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Nyack Sketch Log: Inaugural Exhibit at Historical Society’s New Museum Features Toni Morrison

An exhibition at the Historical Society of the Nyacks opening on Saturday, May 8, curated by novelist Brenda Ross offers an intimate glimpse into Toni Morrison’s creative process. Toni Morrison: A Retrospective is the inaugural exhibit at the Society’s new museum, which is located one floor above their former home on the ground floor of the historic DePew estate at 50 Piermont. Reservations and masks required. Visit nyackhistory.org for more information.

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Nyack Sketch Log: Krew Keeps Revolutionary Skirmish History Alive

Upper Nyack students formed the Skirmish Krew to preserve the history of a time when British warships fired cannonballs at the farms of Patriots, erecting a marker on North Broadway. Read more to learn about this pivotal period of the Revolutionary War as well as the role that black and indigenous Americans played in the effort to defeat an invading army and establish a constitutional democracy.

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Nyack Sketch Log: Remembering Michael Rogozik

One year ago, just as the pandemic was beginning, Nyack lost a beloved local fixture, Mike Rogozik. Although his death was not caused by COVID-19, the complications of our nation-wide shutdown contributed. Rogozik was an Air Force veteran, artist, and friend of many. On the one year anniversary of Mike’s untimely death, prints and cards emblazoned with his artwork are on sale at Main Street Beat, 95 Main St (organized by Kris Burns, proceeds will go to Soup Angels; printing was donated by Harrington Press).

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Nyack Sketch Log: Preston Powell: The Bruce Lee of Loose Tea

Once you learn, through his words and some never before seen photos, how martial arts and music inform Preston Powell and his Teagevity brand, the benefits of tea drinking, how to make a perfect cup of tea, and his plans to preserve the legacy of his grandfather, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. you’ll agree that he is the Bruce Lee of Loose Tea

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Nyack Sketch Log: Piermont Remembers

To celebrate its 125th anniversary, Piermont Library is inviting village residents (through Zoom) to have a voice in how Piermont is remembered. Organizers hope Piermonters will consider Mother’s and Father’s Day as an opportunity to help their parents tell the stories of yesteryear.

I am honored to have been invited to organize this project along with my colleague, David e. Bell. Here are a few vivid recollections from as far back as the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and information on how to participate.

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Nyack Sketch Log: The Final Report of Rockland People’s Panel on Policing

As opening arguments have begun this week in the trial of former Minneapolis Police Office Derek Chauvin for killing George Floyd, hundreds of residents of this county, many of whom protested Floyd’s death in late May 2020, have been dedicating time and collective effort to end racial bias in policing in Rockland.

Here is a link to the full report, “End Racially Biased Policing, Improve Public Safety” and a synopsis of the 11 demands of immediate action.

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Nyack Sketch Log: The Complex Legacy of John Green

The physical appearance and legal status of the John Green House has markedly improved since this 2012 Sketch Log illustration. Massive wooden beams hold the structure in place, as volunteers donate sweat equity, cleaning debris from the interior. And last month, the building was designated as an official Village of Nyack landmark.