On Wednesday, December 16, 2020, Dr. Frances Pratt concluded her 41 year sprint as the President of the Nyack Branch of the NAACP. Dr. Pratt handed the relay baton to local civic leader Nicole Hines, trusting that she might keep the pace in the unending struggle for racial equity in America.
Next year will be my 10th anniversary of sketch logging. And August 24, 2021 will be my 500th column. Here is a review of the last year, with a link to one column per month, serving as my Nyack Sketch Log Year In Review. Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and good riddance to the year that shall not be named.
On November 18th, I helped launch the Rockland People’s Panel on Policing as a steering committee member along with Nelcy Garcia MSW, Nikki Hines, Hon. Michael Lockett, Rev. Everett Newton, Sherry McGill, and Fr. Owen C. Thompson.
by Bill Batson
For over 30 years, Hickory Dickory Dock has welcomed visitors into their European Advent themed interior. Now, they’ve turned their shop inside out, offering handcrafted collectables as well as the work of local artisans under tents festooned with lights. Their Winter Delights Market will operate on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until December 20th.
For our third Nyack Gift set collaboration, this charming illustration, Tale of Two Bridges, embellishes the featured commemorative mug. As a testament to the resilience of local small businesses, Nyack Sketch Log, Teagevity, and Nyack Sweets hope to bring some cheer at the end of one of the most challenging years anyone can remember.
Pre-orders on nyackgift.com allow us to estimate how many gift sets to assemble. $10 discount for pre-orders before mid-nite Dec. 4.
by Bill Batson San Francisco has City Lights. New York City has the Strand. And Nyack has the Pickwick Book Shop. The experience of shopping at Pickwick has changed little since it first opened in […]
Recent discoveries at Mount Moor Cemetery in West Nyack are shedding light on the central role that St. Philip’s AME Zion Church played in the transition of black life in American from Slave to Free in Rockland County. Thanks to the meticulous research, down to the granular level, of William Stump, a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War we are learning that many men who are buried at Mount Moor Cemetery led or were members of St. Philips, which is located at Mill and North Burd Streets in Nyack. Upcoming projects, inspired by Stump’s research, are giving epically courageous men, who either escaped the cruel institution or raised arms to destroy it, their day in the sun.
The least we can do to honor the colored troops from the Civil War buried at Mount Moor Cemetery near the Palisades Mall is to vote today. (And if you have voted already, get someone who hasn’t to the polls!)
But while standing in line, or contemplating the future of our democracy, it’s also worthwhile to dwell on the lives of Solomon Miller, who witnessed the surrender of Robert E. Lee; and Andrew Cason, a member of the 1st Colored Cavalry.
There will be a program via Zoom entitled Mount Moor Cemetery: Time to Pay Respect on December 2, at 7p. Visit the Nyack Library events page to register.
Author and futurist Jules Verne observed “inanimate objects by which you are surrounded have a direct action on the brain.” (Think Rosebud from Citizen Kane!) Visiting curator at the Edward Hopper House Museum and Study Center Carole Perry asked 6 artists to revisit their earliest memories and mine the material that still resonate in their work. The exhibit, Object Lesson, is aptly situated in the childhood home of America’s greatest realist painter, a few paces from the handmade toys that shaped his aesthetic.
Enjoy the images and words about each artist–perfect reading as you stand in line during early voting.
When Sandy slammed through in late October 2012, we declared the first Saturday in November Boo Sandy Day, and made a substitute candy corridor through downtown. Now the same inventive and intrepid minds are finding ways for you to safely get your spook-on–securely at home or socially distant in public–while wearing seasonally and medically appropriate masks!