SAVE THE DATE!

ANNUAL MAPLE SYRUP DAY
Sunday, March 7, 2010
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Caretaker's House, Little Stony Point
Fun for the whole family. Maple tree tapping and syrup making demonstration, panckakes, music and fun!

ANNUAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

The Little Stony Point Citizens Association (LSPCA) held the 2009 Annual Organizational Meeting on Sunday, November 15th from 3–6 p.m. 3011 Route 9D, Cold Spring. Around 100 friends joined us for a fun a potluck with music and a bonfire! A short presentation of who we are and what we do, election of officers and new members sign-up took place.

Although Little Stony Point is a state owned recreational resource, its upkeep is dependent on the work of volunteers (LSPCA), who operate through a cooperative management agreement with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to keep the park clean and make needed improvements, such as weed abatement, grading trails, and trash pick-up. 100% of donations to the LSPCA are used directly for park and structural upkeep.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO BECOME INVOLVED, CONTACT: Volunteers@LittleStonyPoint.org

2009 SPRING CLEAN UP DAY "WILDLY SUCCESSFUL"
SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2009

More than 50 volunteers kicked-off National Volunteer Week 2009 at the Little Stony Point Park Annual River Sweep.
Volunteer teams took off from the caretaker’s house at 8am, 10am, 12pm, and 2pm for two-hour clean-up sessions. Bags, gloves and trash spears were provided. Brownies and lemonade were on hand for the returning troops.

By 4 p.m., no trash was discernible anywhere along Sandy Beach or in the park. Those who returned to the caretaker’s house for the after cleanup jamboree enjoyed the beautiful weather, food and music. Call-out in no particular order to the following volunteers: Nate Binzen, Paul Landsdale, Peter Giunta, Michael Enright, Dan Kramer, Peter Vargo, Pam Kasa, Larry Lyons, Patti Pelican, Michael Heintzman, Will Heintzman, Joe Foster, James Hartford, Amanda Allison, John Zuvick, Jackson Zuvick, Will Zuvick, Matt Donachie, Linda Donachie, Ethan Gallagher, Phil Heffernan, John Martin, Jack McIntyre, Jay Tarrant, Wendy Martin, Charlie Kenney, Eva Sharpe, Andrew Hall, Susan Peehl, Malachy Cleary, David Majzlin, Joe Murphy, Cindy Dreher, Joel Conybear, Arden Conybear, Russ Cusick, Seth Gallagher, Sarah Gurland, Raquel Vidal, Anne Impellizeri, Kyoko Haggerty, Frank Haggerty, Peter Henderson, Ivan Vamos, Rita Vamos, Afton Speigel, Karen Kapoor, John Allison, Amelia Allison, Rich Anderson, The Edukated Fleas (for entertainment) and our good friends at Cold Spring Pizza (for the delicious pizzas).

The day proved so popular, plans are underway to conduct monthlly sweeps of the park during the heavy litter summer months. To get involved, contact Volunteers@Littlestonypoint.org

ANNUAL MAPLE SYRUP DAY RECAP
SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 2009
Little Stony Point Citizen’s Association hosted its 20th Annual Maple Syrup Day last Sunday to a record crowd, who reveled in fresh-off-the-griddle pancakes and hot apple cider.  After what has seemed like a never ending winter, the snow finally melted by week’s end and the sun shone down warmly on a few hundred local residents, many in their shirt sleeves.

Kids of all ages were given a demonstration of how sugar maple trees are tapped and witnessed first hand the process involved in transforming the watery liquid dripping out of the trees into the sticky sweet liquid the native Americans called "sinzibuckwud" literally, “drawn from wood.”   A large fire roared under the evaporator tray, where the water was boiled off, leaving what we know as maple syrup.  The firewood used to feed the flames was reclaimed driftwood picked up along the Sandy Beach area of Little Stony Point.

A stand operated by the Hudson Valley Maple Farm, a program of NY State Parks at the Taconic Outdoor Education Center, had bottles of syrup available for those interested in taking the party home with them.  This group has taps throughout the Taconic Region State Parks, including a number of trees across from the caretaker’s house on Route 9D.  The blue bags appeared in February and provided enough sap to fill the evaporator and more.  The group was present to share their knowledge of the history and methodology of maple syrup making to all.

Music filled the air, as the Cold Spring Fire Company Pipes & Drums, under the direction of Seth Gallagher, marched in for a short set before heading to the Mahopac Parade later that afternoon.  As the crowd was listening to Pete Seeger’s new Grammy-winning “Pete at 89” CD, the longtime friend of Little Stony Point walked up with his banjo and guitar to treat all to his “Maple Syrup Song”.  Having made syrup at his house for generations, he knows firsthand what’s involved in the process and has put the wisdom to words in a pleasant ditty.  He followed it up with a number of favorites as the crowd joined in.

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