Author, artist and sportsman

"Semilegendary" personality in Sneden’s Landing

On Friday, November 19th, a memorial service was held for Edith Margaret Ryan, a beloved member of Palisades Church who passed away on October 17th. Her 81st birthday would have been on November 11th.

As most of you know, our postmaster, Mrs. Mary B. Whatley, lost her son Jamarr this past April. Palisades artist Cristina Biaggi is volunteering her time to create a bronze sculpture in his honor which will be dedicated to Nyack High School, his alma mater. There has been a profound response to the call for contributions and people from the Palisades area have been most generous. As one of the contributors wrote, “Thank you very much for making our community truly one of a kind, sharing and caring for those who are in need.” Cristina will keep the community informed as she progresses on the sculpture and the dedication at the High School. Contributions to The Jamarr Whatley Sculpture Fund can be sent payable to: Cristina Studio, 149 Washington Spring Rd., Palisades, NY 10964. Please write a memo, “In Memory of Jamarr Whatley.”

The Catherine Konner Sculpture Park at Rockland Center for the Arts (ROCA) was dedicated in memory of Joan Konner’s daughter Catherine in October of this year. The centerpiece of the memorial is a sundial, constructed by Palisades artist Robert Adzema. Currently the park features works by Cynthia Harper, Gillian Jagger, Arny Nadler, and Lee Tribe. ROCA also recently received a grant from the Christopher Reeve Foundation to offer a ceramics program for adults who have suffered traumatic brain injuries this past October and November.

Christopher Choi of Palisades, a 2006 graduate of Tappan Zee High School, entered West Point as a cadet this past June. Christopher decided to apply during his sophomore year in high school and was nominated by Representative Eliot Engle. He has already completed the tough six and a half weeks of CBT basic training held during the summer. His proud parents report that he is extremely busy and doing well.

Dr. Pedro Sanchez, the director of tropical agriculture at Lamont’s Earth Institute was recently recognized by the global charity Heifer International as a Hero of Humanity for his important research into ways to restore fertility to marginal soils. According to Heifer’s President, Jo Luck, Sanchez’s research means that many farmers in destitute areas are able to convert dusty, steep or otherwise unusable plots into rich, productive land. Dr. Sanchez is also project leader of the Millennium Project Hunger Task Force. In 2002, he received the World Food Prize, and the next year, was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Award.”

To learn more about Dr. Sanchez, visit www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/tropag

To learn more about Heifer International, visit www.heifer.org

Long-time Palisades resident, Morton Elevitch, 81, died September 30 after a brief illness.

The Power of Acknowledgment

by Judith W. Umlas

published by IIL Publishing, New York 2006

Palisades resident Judy Umlas has just published a wonderful book called The Power of Acknowledgment. Echoing the spirit of the December holiday season, this short, uplifting volume advocates one thing: In the course of daily life at work, at home, and at school, people should not be ashamed to openly give praise and admiration to others where it is due.

Five pots by Jane Herold influenced by Japanese techniques
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This past May, Palisades potter Jane Herold was invited to take part in the Mashiko International Ceramic Festival 2006 in Japan. She joined nineteen other potters from Europe, North America, Korea, Japan and Australia to spend three weeks living and working in the town of Mashiko, in Tochigi Prefecture, about two hours by train from Tokyo.

Mary Whatley, our Postmaster, recently lost her son, Jamarr. He died suddenly while away at college. She sent us the following message to share with our community.

Ann Gray
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Once you met Ann Gray, it was hard to forget her. Although small in stature, at 87 years old, she had the enthusiasm and energy of youth, a passion for flowers and gardening, and was involved in a number of local civic and environmental organizations. Ann passed away after a short illness on March 9th. Up until two weeks before her death, Ann could be seen zipping around town in her car, on her way from one commitment to the next.

Alice Munro Haagensen - 1917
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A Notable Historian Remembered

Alice Munro Haagensen was born in 1900 at Waquoit Bay on Cape Cod, where her family had a summer place. Her father, a medieval historian, taught at the University of Pennsylvania, then at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (she remembered the lakes, the winter sports, walls of snow), and finally at Princeton as the head of the history department, always summering on the Cape.

Liz & Arnold Fink - 1944
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A Notable Historian Remembered

On November 27th, 2005, Palisades lost one of its oldest residents, Elizabeth Ann Finck, who had lived in our village for 81 years. The pictures shown in the Parish House at her memorial service document her life here as a beautiful young girl, a happy bride, a busy wife and mother, a volunteer in local organizations, and a proud and affectionate grandmother. Liz was a gracious lady who established a warm and loving environment for her children and family. She also had a sharp wit and a keen understanding of human nature.

Artist Elaine Smollin
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Elaine Smollin will be working as artist-in-residence at the Community Center this spring. Elaine was a visiting scholar at New York University's Center for Art and Public Policy at the Tisch School of the Arts for 2004-2005: serving as a cultural historian, she worked with earth scientists and archaeologists who allowed her to draw or photograph their findings. These drawings have been exhibited in Europe and are the center of several essays published in the British magazine Next Level.

Philip Galinsky has been a musician as long as he can remember—he started to play guitar and drums as a child and by the age of 8, he had already formed a band called the Stingrays with his neighbors John and Andy Boose, Nik Elevitch, and Eric Morris. During a two and a half year stint at USC in Los Angeles, he was seriously into jazz guitar, but tendonitis forced his career in another direction. He transferred back to this area to study music at Columbia, and simultaneously began to feel the influence of global music from beyond our borders. Hearing a compilation disc of Brazilian artists O Samba, (produced by David Byrne, 1989) proved to be a turning point—Philip cherishes the moment he realized that the seductive rhythms of Brazilian music were what he had been searching for all along. He taught himself to play Brazilian instruments and began to study ethnomusicology in earnest. Since then, he has made nine trips to Brazil.

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These days, the bright lights of Broadway and Hollywood Blvd are reflected in the treetops on Swan St. where Luba Mason, the daughter of Rudy and Ellen Gregus, grew up dreaming of a career in the footlights in the big city nearby. Luba’s dramatic singing voice, radiant beauty, and acting talents have already propelled her into starring roles in many major musicals (Jekyll and Hyde, The Capeman, How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and The Ten Commandments) on both coasts. She has also appeared on hit TV police dramas and soaps and has sung on cast albums alongside stars such as Kristen Chenowith. Now she has a solo CD, just released, called Collage.