By Darren Johnson
Journal & Press
As mentioned in yesterday’s newsletter, the Greenwich High School football season kicks off Saturday, September 7 at 1 p.m. against Ausable Valley at Jordy Jackson field. The team has been excellent in recent years.
Let’s start today’s newsletter with some Dan Pemrick photos from yesterday’s practice:
Thanks, Dan. And, if you didn’t see it, check out yesterday’s newsletter to read about the new concession booth that will be at new turf field.
Find the season schedule here.
Great Newsletter Stats!
This newsletter is growing nicely and has had great numbers and open rates. Most newsletters have single-digit open rates. Look at ours. As well, they are local, opt-in people. Tell your friends!
We’re not a hugely populated area, and this just started in May, so already we’re reaching a good percent of the population, digitally and/or through print.
Newspapers and Innuendo
Speaking of print, after dropping off the dogs at daycare today — they are quite energetic and need to be able to run around a good deal, more than my past-midlife body can handle — I stopped at Scotty’s diner in Wilton to grab a bite and also picked up a free paper from a rack, Saratoga Today.
It’s a solid free weekly and obviously is doing well businesswise, as I see a lot of ads in it. One thing I found kind of interesting — from a journalism standpoint — was this article on the death of the late Marylou Whitney’s (now also late) husband.
Of course, a printed paper — unless it’s The New York Post (which I find fun, by the way) — just has to provide the facts, even if there’s an obvious gorilla in the room (metaphorically speaking).
First, a local media entity apparently needs to buy into the sainthood of the wealthy philanthropist Whitney, who donated a lot to the area, plus was the personification of the marketing that Saratoga Springs is for the rich and famous.
BUT, a paper wants to say, “Hey, there’s a bit of an age difference here.”
So you can scan the article, do some mental math, and see that there may be a three or four decade difference in ages between the two.
Now, who’s to say what love is, and if it were an older male with a much younger woman, it may be less eyebrow raising (unfortunately), and obviously we should let people rest in peace. Still, when one puts out a newspaper, they do imagine what the readers really want to know — thus facts can be presented in a seemingly antiseptic way where it is on the reader to figure out how to answer their morbid curiosities. We all secretly have these curiosities, right?
The mathematical formula is there in that article. You just have to do it. There was no real reason to list Whitney’s age of death, except for satisfying a reader’s morbid curiosity. Though the cause of the late husband’s death being unknown is also eyebrow raising.
Help People in Cambridge Pay for Their Fuel
From a press release: Cooler weather will be upon us soon. Many households will find it hard to find a way to afford the expense of heating their homes. That's why September and October are "Replenish the Cambridge Fuel Fund" months for the 2024-2025 heating season. Last year, thanks to the generosity of numerous donors, 71 requests for assistance were completed for Cambridge Central School district households only for a total of $35,500. It is hard to tell what the price will be for fuel, whether fuel oil, electricity used for heating, coal, propane wood/wood pellets, or kerosene. For further information, call (518) 677-3327. Donations may be mailed to Cambridge Fuel Fund, P.O. Box 473, Cambridge, NY 12816. Contributions are tax deductible.
If you know of other fuel funds in the area that also need publicity, send this newspaper a message at editor@journalandpress.com.
Congrats, Claudia!
Also from a press release: Willard's Mountain Chapter of The Daughters of the American Revolution will present a Community Service Award to Claudia Norton Blackler at its September meeting. The presentation will take place on Saturday, September 7th, 2024, in the Community Room of the Greenwich Free Library, at 10:45 AM. The community is invited to attend. Claudia Norton Blackler has spent a lifetime in service to her community. She was a librarian for many years, ending her career at the Greenwich Free library, in Greenwich, New York. In retirement, she did not abandon her beloved library. Claudia has been a tireless volunteer in the “Gill Room”, a repository of local history at the Greenwich Free Library. The “Gill Room” contains in its collection an assortment of local history: Family genealogy, compilations of themed articles collected from the Greenwich Journal through the years (fires, parks, railroad), veteran’s records from World War I & II, area history of neighboring towns and Washington County, photographs, postcards, and maps. Every week, Claudia can be found manning the space, assisting anyone who needs help, preserving historic documents and objects from the Greater Greenwich community. She has also jumped in to teach a writing course at the library when the instructor was not able to honor their commitment. Claudia is an advocate of telling your family’s story in a permanent way, to preserve it for posterity. She speaks at various local meetings about writing down your family’s history and preserving it for future generations. She often brings her own family’s documentation, a collection of approximately 30 journals, lovingly assembled by Claudia over a number of years. She has furthered African American history in our community by being vice-president and one of the founding members of the Northstar Historical Association. She assisted with its many activities, including History Fairs and walks through the local cemetery and community. Together with Clifford Oliver Mealy, the Albany Boys and Girls club brought a group of inner city youth to the community of Greenwich for the exchange of ideas and culture. It may have been the first time that some of these young people had been outside the city of Albany limits. Claudia teamed with Debi Craig to write a puppet play about the Underground Railroad which was performed for an Underground Railroad conference held in Greenwich, as well as for students at local schools, including Greenwich Elementary School. Claudia has also shown service to her family and friends. A number of family members have developed serious health issues over the years. Claudia paused her own activities to take care of each of them. She also has driven incapacitated friends to doctors appointments and other places. Now she herself is facing a serious health issue. Claudia is always the first to say “How can I help?” She exemplifies the meaning of community service and is highly deserving of the DAR’s Community Service award.
And Now for the Comics — ‘Gasoline Alley’ by Jim Scancarelli
And that’s it for today. More tomorrow!