BOVINA NEWSLETTER

A letter from the pastor I need to confess a matter. Before doing so, know what I confess I fully support. Without further ado, my

confession is….my religion informs my politics as it should.

GASP!

I know! Crazy statement……right? It goes against the long held sentiment that religion and politics don’t

mix…..and now, all of a sudden, in this forum I blurt it out. How dare I do such a thing?

Well, just hear me out.

Religion and politics have almost always gone hand-in-hand. We see all the time one being used by the oth-

er to justify their actions. We see religion using politics and politics using religion when one wants to wage war on another. We see religion using politics and politics using religion when one wants to order society

in a particular way. And we see religion using politics and politics using religion when one wants justify the

way another is treated.

I’ll give $1,000 to anyone who can tell me of a time when religion and politics didn’t go hand-in-hand.

Okay, that last sentence is a lie. The next one, on the other hand, is very true. I won’t be giving any money away. However, I’m still curious if any know of such a time when religion and politics weren’t going about

their merry way with one another by their side.

The reason I’m convinced religion and politics have always gone hand-in-hand is because I constantly hear

people justify their reasons for supporting one matter over another based on what it is they believe. I’m

not one who believes that just because everyone else is doing something that I should as well. However, in

this case I will. So, I argue, my religion should inform my politics.

If you agree with me, I suggest it’s time for us to get to know our religions. Know the rituals, know the be-

liefs, know the holy texts, know the practices. This doesn’t mean show up to a meeting once a year. It

doesn’t mean to have the ability to rattle off jargon by rote. It doesn’t mean to read the holy book once. It doesn’t mean pray only when you’re in dire straights. It means dive in. It means practice. It means read.

It means question. It means study; not just studying the holy book(s) your religion has, but inquiring from

the leaders of that religion, and studying scholars of that religion as well, scholars that challenge and

stretch you and that help you gain a deeper understanding, (Continued on p.2)

COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER Sponsored by

the Bovina UP Church

Spring 2017

• April 1—

Chicken & Biscuit Din-ner at the Bovina UP

• April 15—

Easter Egg Hunt

• April 22—-

“Bovina Celebrates” at the Community Hall

• May 6—

Crock-Pot Cook-Off

• May 28—-

Memorial Day Service at the Bovina Cemetery

• June 3—

Kidstock Music Festival

• July 15—

Bovina Day

• July 31-Aug 4—

Vacation Bible School

• August 7-11—

Schoolhouse Camp

• August 17—

Fire/EMS Chicken BBQ

• August 26—

Livestock Music Festival

Page 2 Bovina newsletter

Thanksgiving Pie Sale

Many hands certainly made light work at the Annual Pie Sale in November.

Thanks to the organizational talents of Amy Burns, we sold approximately 50

pies (and donated half a dozen to the Community Dinner in Delhi). Many church

and community members contributed their time and energies (and ingredients)

and this has become one of our most beloved Bovina traditions!

(Continued from p. 1) a deeper understanding that helps you differentiate between the extremes of your religion. Get to know your reli-

gion. Don’t let someone else be the one that tells you everything it believes. Don’t let someone else be the one that tells you everything it says you should do. Know your religion for yourself and let it inform your politics. Because truth be told, it already is. A quick dis-

claimer: Some are reading this with the thought that religion is what is wrong with the world in the first place. If this is you, I’d love to hear from you and to have a discussion with you. I believe open and honest communication is the only way we’ll progress as a society

and I hope you’ll be willing to continue this conversation with me.

Until next time, blessings:

Holiday Caroling

Our Holiday Season is so festive (and busy!) as we celebrate our community and it’s

members. One of our favorite activities is our night of Caroling (featuring our uniquely

talented cast of singers). Neither wind nor rain nor tone-deafness can keep us from our

enthusiastic renderings of holiday classics.

Church Activities and Updates, from Garrett Schindler

Page 3

Youth Group The youth group gathered together in December for a mission-oriented lock-in. They prepared food and made

sticky-buns for Coffee Hour following worship and they prepared our tags for the Over-80's Bags that they filled at Coffee Hour. Also at the lock-in, they set the tables for Coffee Hour and they wrote questions on the table cloths for

the adults to answer. The questions ranged from "Do you like milk?" to "What's your favorite color?"; from "Did you enjoy school?" to "Do you enjoy your work?"; from "What do you miss about childhood?" to "How did you

handle bullies?" The adults at the Coffee Hour joyfully answered the children's questions.

At the next youth meeting we reviewed all the answers the adults shared. The youth were thankful that their ques-tions were answered.

As always, keep the youth of our community and the surrounding communities in your prayers. Pray that they are instilled with wisdom and discernment as they continue to grow and become more and more independent each day.

Monthly Youth Group meets the first Sunday of the month from 5:00 - 6:30 pm.

We'll meet through the month of May in 2017 before taking a Summer Vacation.

ABC's of Christmas

This past Christmas, instead of the usual pageant, the kids and youth shared with us a Seussical-esque ABC's of Christ-mas. Nearly the entire service was in rhyme and all involved had a grand time. The original brain child behind the idea

of the ABC's of Christmas is unknown, but Marena and I learned of it from a friend who pointed us to the version by Rev. Erin Klassen, which we adapted. For those who missed the service, a child or youth of our community walked forward with a poster they decorated of a letter of the alphabet. The child or youth would read the poem written for

the letter and by the end of the service we heard the story of Jesus birth and the hope it brings through the 26 letters of our alphabet. One of my favorite letters was 'D.' For your enjoyment, here is the poem:

D is for the donkey, that carried a pregnant Mary.

I sure bet Joseph was thinking, “Why didn’t we take the ferry?”

Page 4 Bovina newsletter

Joys and Concerns

Our heartfelt condolences to the families of June Burns, Agnes Burns, Lou Miele, and Margaret Oelsner, who passed

away this winter.

Prayers also to Tom Burns, recovering from surgery.

Longtime Bovina residents, John and Delores Chimento, will be missed in the community. Our thoughts are with them as they've journeyed north to be closer with family. For those hoping to send well-wishes, their new address is 11 Bateau

Way, Apt. 214, Plattsburgh, NY 12903.

Joan and Jack Nau sent a lovely photo from their 65th Anniversary celebration in September and enclosed this note:

“We celebrated at home with family. We are only the 2nd family to live

in our house since it was built in 1803by the Ormistons. We’ve been

here for 48 years and & played hosts to many friends, children’s

friends, Boy Scout campers.

Ormiston relatives have come over the years to see what’s new… Ruth

O. Monroe, Francis Burns, Lois & Fletcher Davidson,… who shared their

knowledge of the house’s history.

It’s a great home and Bovina is a wonderful town!”

Thanks so much for sharing this with us, folks!

Spring Youth Cantata

On April 30th at 10 am we will be showcasing the Spring Youth Cantata at the

Bovina UP. Rehearsals are held every Saturday in April from 9:30-11 am (note:

no rehearsal on April 15th). The Directors for this event are Marena Vittorio,

Pastor of Andes Presbyterian Church and Elaine Peck, Drama Director and Ac-

companist at Andes Central School. Please join us after the performance for a

dish-to-pass luncheon.

Vacation Bible School

VBS will be held on Monday—Friday evenings, July 31-August 4, from 5-7 pm. The theme of this summer's VBS is still being determined. However, what is

known for certain is we look to have another wonderful week of building commu-

nity, learning the stories of faith, playing entertaining games, and never forget the

ICE CREAM!

Something new will be happening this year at VBS. We are opening up to all generations. No one is too old or too young participate. This will be Baby Vitto-

rio Schindler's first ever VBS!

Other Springtime Favorites:

The Chicken & Biscuit Dinner is scheduled for April 1st, from 5-7 pm. Please

join us to hobknob with the neighbors and support the Bovina UP.

The Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, April 15th at 10 am. We are

encouraging all Egg Hunt participants to bring a non-perishable food item to

donate to the Andes-Bovina Community Food Bank.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Thanks to a Committee headed by Monica Liddle, the Town has purchased many new items for the Community Hall kitchen. A list of the items is on display in the kitchen as well as their whereabouts in the locked cabinets. If you are having an event at the hall and would like to use any of these items please let Cathy Hewitt know that you would like both keys when you make arrangements to reserve the hall. Also, Ed Rossley, Sr. would like to offer, to anyone needing stakes for starting garden plants, wooden dowels recycled from the discarded flags at the cemetery that are replaced each year. Please contact him at 607-832-4379 if you are interested.

Livestock Foundation and Bovina Valley Creamery News, from Sonia Janiszewski

The Livestock Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission it is to preserve the rural traditions and communities of Delaware County through programming that supports and encourages agricultural engagement and edu-cation. The Foundation has been involved in several exciting developments in Bovina Center in recent months, partnering to bring the town’s Creamery back into operation and open the Dry Town Tavern and Inn at the site of the Hilson Bros. store and adjacent home (formerly Jack and Barb Hilson’s). The Creamery was purchased last year and is in the process of being renovated. It is expected to be in full production this summer, processing a variety of dairy products and mar-keting them under the Cowbella brand. Products will include 2% Greek yogurt, full-fat cream-top yogurt, drinkable yogurt, butter, bottled milk, Alderney (tome-style), mozzarella, parmesan, and additional part-skim Italian hard cheeses. A viewing room and exhibit space will allow guests to watch the Creamery’s "make floor" and learn about the history of Bovina’s dairy heritage. To learn more, visit bovinavalley.com.

The Foundation has recently purchased the 55-acre Hilson Farm and, through collaboration with the renovat-ed Bovina Valley Creamery, a dairy herd will return to the old barn and pasture. This team of local entrepre-neurs includes John Finn, Wendy Buerge, Dan Finn, and Shannon Mason, who share a vision for a communi-ty centered on food and agriculture. In January, Sonia Janiszewski joined the organization as Executive Direc-tor to manage the development of the farm as a future community resource and educational center. The Foundation will host a series of workshops later this year (details regarding the topics and schedule are will be available on the Foundation’s Facebook and Instagram pages).

Also, the Livestock Music Festival will be presenting their first annual KIDSTOCK! to be held on June 3, 2017, rain or shine. Save the date! Details will be available soon on Livestock Music Festival’s Facebook page.

Town News, by Mark Rossley

Bovina Valley Creamery, Livestock Founda-tion Farm, and future Dry Town Tavern &

Inn as seen from above.

Photo by Jessica Vecchione.

Page 6 Page 6

Library News, by Annette Robbins

Fire/EMS, from Bobbi Burgin

Santa visited with the young and young-at-heart at the Bovina

Fire Hall in December.

The library is launching a new Reading Group / Book Club organized by Siobhan Barrett and Pamela Benson. The initial meeting was a success and the organizers would like to invite anyone interested to join them on Tuesday, April 25 @ 5:45 PM. A discussion of All The Things We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is planned as well as logistics and a book roster for future meetings. Free to contact Annette (bovinalibrary@gmail.com), Siobhan (siobhan629@gmail.com) or Pam (benson.pamela@gmail.com) for more information or visit the Bo-vina Reading Club Facebook page. The library received a grant of a hundred children's books from The Brownstone Book Fund. The books are in the spirit of read-ing for enjoyment - whimsical and fun. Come celebrate National Library Week - April 9 - 15 and take home one of these modern classics. Or read one out-loud in the library as Gretel Hilson-Schneider and Rose McPheely like to do (pictured at right)! This year, 2017, marks the 100th Anniversary of Bovina Public Library being a chartered member by the Board of Regents of New York State Education Department. The official date is in December, but we want to celebrate throughout the year. Some ideas that have come about are a town barbecue celebration in-cluding give-away souvenirs. If you would like to join in planning and/or helping with any activities, please contact the library. Also this year the library received a NYS Construction Aid grant for the purpose of rehabilitating the library basement. The plan includes wheelchair access to the basement, an accessible washroom, new flooring, walls and heating. Renovation work could begin as soon as August or may be postponed until 2018 as we have three years to complete the project. The library website has been a bit neglected the past two years and is coming back online slowly. Please visit the site to find out more information about these programs and other events for the coming season. If you would like to volunteer your talents and time, stop by, call or email and we'd be happy to share the wealth and give you a webmaster password to help us become a dynamic, electronic presence. School year hours (Sep-Jun) - Tu: 10-5; We: 1-7; Th: 1-5; Sa: 10-1 Summer hours (Jul-Aug) - Tu: 10-3; We: 1-7; Th: 1-7; Sa: 10-1 bovinalibrary.org - 607 832 4884

The Bovina Fire District is looking for a new Fire Queen to represent us in parades

and at local fairs. If you are 14-19 years old, living in the fire district, and are in-

terested, please contact Bobbi Burgin.

Mark your calendars for this summer’s Annual Chicken BBQ (August 17th) and for

the fall’s Annual Chili Supper (October 7th).

Bovina Historical Society News, by Ray LaFever, Jan Bray, and Wendy Buerge

On April 22, 2017 at 7 pm, Ray LaFever will present his

third annual Bovina Historian’s program at the Bovina Com-

munity Hall. This year’s presentation, called “Bovina Cele-

brates,” will be primarily a slide show of photographs of past

Bovina town picnics, Old Home Days, and anniversaries. Im-

ages will include a shot of Jack Hilson on his flower decked

pony for the 1926 parade, Bobby Boggs in disguise for the

1956 Old Home Day, the memorable float from Bovina’s Ses-

quicentennial of Jack and June Burns as “American Gothic,”

and Cecil and Isabell Russell on their prize-winning float

from Bovina’s celebration of the nation’s Bi-centennial.

The program also will be an opportunity for people to start thinking about how Bovina should

celebrate its upcoming Bicentennial in 2020. We will be passing out note cards on which at-

tendees may jot down an idea or two for observing this important anniversary. Ray is always

looking for pictures from past Bovina celebrations, so please contact him if you have any. A

free will donation to benefit the Bovina Historical Society will be collected at the door.

Delaware Gazette, July 26, 1826

Schoolhouse Camp School House Day Camp will be held August 7-11, from

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is a chance for children having completed lst through 5th grades to dress, eat, play and

learn in an early 1900’s mode in Bovina District #1 School House. This experience has been highly ac-claimed by those having attended over the past three

years. If your child is interested in turn-of-the-Century fun, games, crafts, and recitations, please contact Jan

Bray (nichebray@delhitel.net or 832-4521).

Calling All Cooks!

Please join us on May 6th at 6 PM for an evening of friendly competition, good eating and community spirit at the Crock-Pot Cook-Off! Taste of each dish and vote for your favorite in each category (Meat, Side, Vegetarian, Dessert and Kids). Winners will be announced at 7:15 PM. Non-

alcoholic beverages will be provided, BYOB. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids (this fee includes tasting and voting). We’ll also offer raffles for great prizes from local vendors.

To register your dish (including your contact info and category you are competing in) or for more information, please contact Wendy Buerge (wendybuerge@gmail.com; 607.832.4400).

The Bovina Historic Society is a non-profit organization that is responsible for maintaining Russell’s Store, the Museum and the historic Fire Hall. All proceeds will support maintenance and repair of these structures

Bovina Band – Learn the Boys How to Blow by Ray LaFever, Town Historian

Page 8 Bovina newsletter

The photograph above, believed to date from 1890, shows the members of the Bovina Coronet Band. They are, left to right: James Foreman, John Laing, James Dickson, Mil-lard Thomson, Al McPherson, George McNair, Will Mil-ler, Robert Fiero, Adam Laidlaw, Robert Foreman, John Gordon, Fred Bramley, William Archibald, Will Black, Arthur Hoy, Dr. Secord (vet), Alex Myers. The May 17, 1890 Delaware Republican reported the band’s formation under the headline “B.B.B. – Bovina Brass Band” and noted that “when fully organized [the band] will contain about twenty pieces.” The report went on to say that “a teacher has been engaged to learn the boys how to blow.” The band received its instruction from Mr. M.V. Teller, of Stamford. The August 20, 1890 Delaware Gazette reported that the band “serenaded some of the prominent citizens of the town, and among them Mr. and Mrs. A.F. Maynard.” The Maynards invited the band into their home and served refreshments and presented them a $20 donation. The band took some time to get underway. In the Octo-ber 18 Delaware Republican, it was reported that “the band have postponed their concert till about Christmas.”

The paper went on to note that “our neighboring towns are commencing to realize the fact that we have a band and you can spell it with a big B every time.” In December, the band did indeed give a concert on Christmas Eve at Strangeway’s Hall. The Delaware Repub-lican on December 6 promoted this concert, noting that “this entertainment will give an evening or two of pleasure to those who may attend it, as an entertainment of this kind of the Prof.’s direction will be well worth hearing.” During the 1890s, the band entertained in Bovina and in the surrounding area. The went to Hancock on August 1891 for the Grand Army of the Republic Reunion. In August 1894, the band played for a picnic in New King-ston and in Shavertown at the fair there in 1896. They performed at a benefit in Bloomville in September 1896 as a benefit for a band being formed there. Sixteen mem-bers of the Bovina band marched in the 1897 Delaware County Centennial Parade in Delhi. Of course, they also played in Bovina. They played for several Bovina Decoration days. Reported in the Andes Recorder in 1895, the band performed for Bovina’s Deco-ration Day “under the direction of Professor Harkness and assisted by a snare drummer from Margaretville.” In 1896, the Recorder reported that in September “the Bo-vina Band has purchased a gasoline lamp, and tested it at a recent practice meeting. It gives a fine light.” The band didn’t always perform for just public events. In December 1898, the band serenaded Milton Hoy when he returned home from his service in the Spanish-American War. It is not clear when the band disbanded, but references to its activities disappear from the local press by the early 1900s

Pastor, Rev. Garrett Schindler garrettschindler@gmail.com

607-832-4340 PO Box 26

Bovina Center, NY 13740

COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER SPONSORED BY

We are now green! If you would like to receive our e-newsletter, please

send a message to

bovinanewsletter@hotmail.com

Or view it on our website: www.bovinaupchurch.com

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

DELHI, NY

PERMIT NO. 2

www.bovinaupchurch.com

Photos and images in this issue were gen-erously contributed by Julie Hilson, Ray

LaFever, Annette Robbins, Garrett Schindler, and Jessica Vecchione.

If you have any news to contribute for future issues, please let Julie

know (bovinanewsletter@hotmail.com or

832-4567)!