City of Newburgh

Habitat Day of Service rescheduled

Dae Vitale
Posted 2/13/19

Greetings from River City.

When Roman Emperor Claudius II stopped marriages and engagements so that his soldiers would not have wives or fiancés to object to leaving, Valentine, a priest, …

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City of Newburgh

Habitat Day of Service rescheduled

Posted

Greetings from River City.

When Roman Emperor Claudius II stopped marriages and engagements so that his soldiers would not have wives or fiancés to object to leaving, Valentine, a priest, married couples secretly, the discovery of his defiance led to his being beaten and put to death on Feb. 14, around 270 AD. He was eventually named a Saint.

Pope Gelasius designated Feb. 14, St. Valentine’s Day, around 498 AD. So, when you are celebrating St. Valentine’s Day with the one you love, you will have joined the line of romantics stretching back more than 1520 years, and which has grown to include many of those we love. Happy St. Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh, announced their MLK Day of Service, postponed due to weather, will be celebrated on President’s Day, Monday, February 18

Dr. King said, “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

Youngsters will build and paint cathouses, which will be donated to Newburgh SCATS, a local non-profit that helps feral and abandoned cats. Volunteers will also help with other projects, including demolition and clean out of houses on William St., where Habitat Newburgh is renovating 6 homes, and sprucing up a local youth boxing gym as a part of Habitat Newburgh’s neighborhood revitalization work.

MLK Day of Service with Habitat Newburgh at various sites on Monday, Feb. 18. Youngster‘s Activity: Building cat shelters at Habitat Newburgh office, 125 Washington St. from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Volunteers: Demolition at 128-116 William St. Painting and Spruce Up at Hook Elite Boxing Club at 401Washington St. from 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Thank You Lunch: At 12:30 p.m. at Calvary Presbyterian Church.

From Habitat Newburgh: Students from Gidney Avenue Memorial School fundraised $1389.92 and donated it to Habitat Newburgh! THANK YOU to these generous young people, their families, and their teachers-- your gift will help a local family build a place to call home!

Thank you to the volunteer groups that came out to build with Habitat Newburgh this month: Capuchin Youth and Family Ministries; Marlboro High School; Rexhill Furniture; Goshen Presbyterian; St. James Episcopal; and Philipstown Presbyterian. If you would like to schedule a Team Build day, contact Habitat Newburgh at 568-6035 x110 or volunteer@habitatnewburgh.org.

Habitat’s Construction Update: 128 William St. - Volunteers are beginning interior framing at our 9th Women Build house. 126 William St. - Volunteers are prepping the basement to get it ready for a new concrete slab to be poured.

In addition: 124 William St. - The front porch has been completely deconstructed and volunteers are getting the site ready for a concrete slab. 122-116 William St. - Deconstruction continues on these gut-rehab houses and new roofs are being installed.

Habitat Newburgh’s February Volunteer Spotlight: Susan Crandall – one of the Can-doers & Go-getters. Susan can usually be found on site Wednesdays and Fridays, grinning and eager to get her hands dirty and learn something new. One of her favorite aspects of volunteering is all of the firsts that she has the chance to experience.

From working with new tools to delving into different home improvement projects, the variety has an allure that has kept Susan coming back for almost 2 years. Before becoming a weekly staple on site, Susan worked as a magazine editor in New York City for 15 years. From there she worked on a project for AARP called Life Reimagined, a website that focused on life change.

“She joined the Habitat family shortly after her career “broke up with her”. Considering her hard work, lightheartedness and willingness to learn new skills we are happy to be Susan’s post-career rebound. In addition to volunteering, Susan is also an avid cyclist who racks up an impressive 2,000 miles a year!


“When prompted to share some of her favorite memories and qualities of the volunteer experience, Susan laughed and said, “If they ever make a blooper reel I’ll definitely be on it”. She followed up with “If you can’t make Josh and Brady tear their hair out what fun is it?”

“Susan also marveled at the go-getters who consistently displayed can-do attitudes onsite. She fits seamlessly into our lovely roster of can-doers, where the effort each volunteer puts in provides tangible results. From grunt work to the finishing touches, Susan loves being able to see the results of her work throughout the process of a build.

Thank you, Susan for your good nature, community spirit, dedication, and muscles!

Reminder: Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site is celebrating Washington’s Birthday with three days of fun and festivities in honor of him on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Feb. 16, 17 and 18 from 12 – 4 p.m.

Join in singing “Happy Birthday” to the General, who will the start the festivities each day by cutting into his birthday cake. Then explore all that each day offers - music, military demonstrations, topical talks, and a take-home craft - something for everyone!

Each day the General will greet visitors in his headquarters, joined by Martha on Sunday and Monday. Balladeer Thad McGregor will offer musical entertainment. On the grounds, reenactors will perform military drills culminating at the end of the day with a review of the troops by the General himself.

Troops present each day are: Saturday – the 5th New York Regiment, Sunday – Lamb’s Artillery and the Morgan Rifle Corps, and the 4th Connecticut Regiment, and Monday – the 5th Connecticut Regiment.

Pick up some interesting historical knowledge with talks each day. On Saturday, Dawn Elliott, from Locust Lawn, will speak about “The Legend of Claudius Smith: Loyalist Raids and Their Lasting Memory.”

On Sunday, Wade Wells, from Johnson Hall State Historic Site, will talk about “Eighteenth Century Trade Bale.” On Monday, Mildred Starin, from the Gomez Mill House, will discuss “Bringing the Gomez Mill House to the Public.”

As a very special treat, The Washington Project: History Comes Alive! will take place each afternoon. Students from the Newburgh Enlarged City School District will present their own individually created theatrical and musical performance pieces featuring interpretations of historic events that took place while Washington was at his Newburgh Headquarters.

The paper box mystery: While work was being done on the Hasbrouck House at Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site, a small paper box was found behind one of the chimneys. However, an even greater discovery was made--inside the box was a ring and thimble!

This discovery was brought to the attention of Mrs. McCurdy’s 9th grade honor students at Newburgh Free Academy. They created their own unique and original stories surrounding the “Mystery of the Paper Box.” Speculation was done on who might have hidden the box, what was the reason for doing it, and why was it left in the Hasbrouck House?

The box and contents, along with the student essays, will be on display in the Museum’s Community Gallery, starting Feb. 16. The opening weekend of the exhibit coincides with the three-day George Washington Birthday Celebration at Washington’s Headquarters.


For further information, call (845) 562-1195.

Victor Azuaje, associate professor of Hispanic Studies at Mount Saint Mary College, will present “The Sacrifice of Elizabeth Eckford: Danielle Allen and María Zambrano on Democratic Citizenship” on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. in Room 218 of the Kaplan Family Library and Learning center in the Dominican Center at the Mount, 330 Powell Ave. The talk, part of the college’s Investigating Research on Campus (iROC) series is free and open to the public.

On behalf of the Youth Ministry, Sr. Laura Urbano would like to thank all who came out on Jan. 21 to help paint and set up a chapel at Sacred Heart School for their Youth program. Also, a big thank you to those who donated supplies and materials for the project as well as those who provided snacks for the workers.

Mark Your Calendars: The Msgr. Henry O’Carroll Knights of Columbus Council #444 is sponsoring a Fish Fry from 5 – 8 p.m. in Gallo Hall at Sacred Heart School each Friday night during Lent—Mar. 8, 15, 22, and 29, and Apr. 5 and 12. Cost is $10/per person.

Volunteers Needed: Meals on Wheels of Greater Newburgh is looking for volunteers. Adults of any age can help by driving or delivering the hot, nutritious meals that are cooked fresh each morning, Monday - Friday, at their headquarters at 35 Cerone Pl. Volunteers arrive at 10:45 a.m., to gather the meals, and usually finish making their “rounds” by noon. To volunteer, or for more information, call Ms. Bello at 562-3490, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. any weekday or email to mealsonwheels1972@yahoo.com.

On Monday, Feb. 25, at 6 p.m. in St. Francis’ O’Connor Hall, Collette will be giving a presentation on the Costa Rica trip scheduled for Oct. 5-13, 2019. All are welcome.

Friends of Seniors: Give the gift of a lift. Many older adults and those with disabilities live alone and enjoy their independence. Unfortunately, some are isolated, separated from their families or are in need of a caring friend. Help your neighbors feel connected to their community. For about 2 hours a week volunteers make a difference by providing transportation to local appointments, helping with grocery shopping and home visits.

For more info and to RSVP, contact Anita Manley at 564-8936.

Celebrate Mardi Gras on Saturday, Mar. 2 from 7 – 11 p.m. at Colden Manor at Spruce Lodge, 619 Rte. 17K. Buffet dinner, cash bar, music and dancing, door prizes and raffles. Tickets are $60 each or table of 10 is $550. Note: Cash Only and No Tickets Purchased at the Door.

Tickets are available at Sacred Heart Church rectory from 12 – 4 p.m. Monday - Friday. For more information, call the rectory at 561-2264. All proceeds to benefit the Deacon Dominick Casadone Chapter of the St. Vincent dePaul Society of Sacred Heart St. Francis Church. Please note, this is an Adult Only event.

On Dec. 3, 1956, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community.” — The haven of a beloved community on earth takes the efforts and good will of us all within that community—each of us taking a chance on the other guy.

As always, I close with my prayers for God’s blessings on your heads, my dears and on the heads of all our brothers and sisters in this world, from the youngest in the womb to the oldest on earth.