Published: April 10, 2008 09:39 am         

South Valley

By CAROL BRODIE

I enjoyed a nice visit, via telephone, with Marion Holmes last week, and she mentioned seeing some birds that she hadn’t seen in a few years. Twice this past winter, she says, she spotted six or eight pine grosbeaks. I remember years ago, when we lived on the farm, we had pine grosbeaks, too, but I haven’t seen them since.

Marion reports seeing her first woodchuck of spring, too, on Thursday, April 3. Meanwhile, Mary Stannard reports that they’ve had red-winged blackbirds and robins since before Easter. Then on Wednesday, March 26, they saw their first bluebird. She says they also heard a turkey gobbling that day up on the hill, something they don’t usually hear until the end of April.

Sharon Thompson shared how she and David watched seven deer early Friday morning out back by their pond. We have five deer, two of which are fawns, that are here every evening. They feed in the cornfield behind our saphouse and then cross the road to go to the water hole in the field next door to our house.

Tuesday, April Fool’s Day, was a rainy day, but warm, with temperatures up in the 50s. That evening brought our very first spring thunderstorm, which was a bad one, with torrential rains, and lots of thunder and lightening. Then, following the storm, we had horrific winds.

We, at Brodie’s Sugar Bush, began boiling maple syrup on Saturday, March 29. It was a busy day as well, with people stopping in all day long to pick up supplies and watch the boiling. Among our visitors were Dan and Melissa Thompson and sons, Peter and Paul, of Jefferson, along with friend Dan Crandall. My sister and brother-inlaw, Donna and Steve Hatch, Dillon and Jekara, of Mc- Graw, arrived on Tuesday morning, April 1, for a visit, and Steve enjoyed helping with the boiling in the saphouse. They returned home on Wednesday night.

Birthday Wishes

Birthday wishes go out to Chad Gray, Lydia Lusk who will be three years old, Brittany Mabie who turns 17, Brent Mabie and Andrew Pokorny who both turn 11, Rachel Brodie who will be 25, Bob Lundgren, Sr., Joshua Hoagland, Matthew Hayes who turns 16, Madeline Hansen who will be four, and Judy Reynolds.

Marty Mott would like to express a grateful thank you to her family and her friends for the wonderful surprise 70th birthday party they gave her. Marty’s children, Robin Mott, Belinda Mott- Schultz and Elizabeth Mott, her stepchildren, Karin Lange, Kristin Lange-Slentz, Eric Lange and Georgia Streeter, “planned and executed the best kept secret for my large family in history,” Marty says. The party was attended by Marty’s grandchildren, step-grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as well as her Aunt Virginia Grover and her cousin, Candi Johnston, who drove up from Binghamton. Marty says about 30 dear friends also attended the party, which was held at the South Valley Community Hall on Sunday, March 30. The party was truly a wonderful surprise, and she didn’t suspect a thing, because on her actual birthday, March 20, the children got together at her home for a little party.

Coming Events

The annual South Valley- Pleasant Brook Cemetery Association meeting will be held at the home of Leland and Pat Mabie on Friday, April 18, at 7 p.m. All officers are asked to please attend, and the meeting is also open to anyone else who may be interested in attending. Expressions of Sympathy An expression of sympathy goes to Milt and Shirley Beaulieu in the death of Shirley’s father, Irving Merwin, 95, of Jefferson, who passed away on Thursday, March 20.

Sympathy is also extended to Dick and Barb Strader in the death of Barb’s brother, William “Bill” Bush, 60, of Oneonta, formerly of Westford, who passed away in late March.

Sympathy also goes out to Mark and Debbie Anderson and family in the death of Mark’s grandmother, Marjorie Logan, 87, of Venice, Fla., who passed away March 12. Bits and Pieces On Saturday, March 15, Bob, Dee Dee and Heather Schermerhorn, of Seward, were guests of Jim and Carolyn Sweeney as they enjoyed a fun evening of playing cards and visiting. Dee Dee and Heather had spent that day in Albany as they shopped in Colonie and at Crossgates Mall.

Abby Dent, of Oneonta, arrived at her grandparents, Dick and June Hansen’s, on Thursday evening, March 20, and stayed until Saturday. Then on Friday, the Hansens’ grandchildren, Olivia and Maddy Hansen, of Oneonta, also arrived for a visit. June’s nephew, Dillon Rickard, of Cobleskill, also came for a Friday visit to play with his cousins.

The Hansens’ son, Richard, arrived on Saturday afternoon to take all the Oneonta grandchildren back home again following their fun-filled visit at the farm.

Diane Mollen and grandson, Grayson, drove her mom, Marilyn Mollen, to the Delmar home of Pam and Doug Hamlin on Thursday, March 20. Marilyn and Pam then went to visit Jim Mollen in New York City and helped him move to his new apartment a few blocks away. The three of them came back upstate on Saturday, with Pam returning home as she had a wedding to attend, and Marilyn and Jim returned to Marilyn’s South Valley home.

Dad, Mom, Frank and I had visitors Wednesday night through Thursday morning, March 26 to 27, as the Rev. and Mrs. Eugene Kellogg and daughter, Charlene, of Elliston, Va., spent some time with us. They had been up in the Cranberry Creek area visiting, and were en route to Pennsylvania to visit Mrs. Kellogg’s brother, Billy Mead, who is in a nursing home, due to Parkinson’s disease.

We all enjoyed a great time of reminiscing about the “good old days” when Rev. Kellogg pastored at our church here in South Valley back in the 1960’s. They also asked about the many people they knew back then, where they are today and how they are doing.

Raymond and Sandy Sutton, of Decatur, were Friday evening callers at Leland and Pat Mabie’s on March 28.

Clifford Snyder enjoyed lunch and a day of visiting with his brother and sisterin- law, Art and Frieda Snyder, in Fly Creek, on Saturday, March 29.

Elizabeth Rose Thompson, of Morris, spent Saturday through Sunday, March 29 to 30, visiting her grandparents, David and Sharon Thompson, and her Uncle Aaron. On Sunday afternoon, they celebrated Elizabeth’s seventh birthday with a special cake, ice cream, and gifts.

Following Sunday morning worship services at the Little Falls Baptist Church, Elliot Brodie enjoyed a roast beef dinner and spent the afternoon visiting his daughter, Barb and Mick Kineke, of Mohawk. Other dinner guests included Kevin Kineke and Erica Usyk, of Ilion, and Harry Kineke, of Richfield Springs.

Mary Stannard says that despite the cold, windy weather on Saturday, March 29, they had sap to boil both days of Maple Weekend, when over 60 people visited Stannard’s Maple Farm. They had three trees in their front yard tapped and connected with tubing so that the visitors could see how sap flows from tree to tree in the woods to a gathering tank, rather than a bucket on each tree. The Stannards also had many old types of drills and spiles on display and a variety of maple products for sale. Visitors also enjoyed light refreshments of maple oatmeal squares and maple bran muffins. Enjoy a great week of, hopefully, nice spring weather, and don’t forget to phone me at (607) 264-3225 with any news you wish to share for this area. Those of you who have my email address are also welcome to send me news that way, if you prefer.