PHOTOS, ASBURY METHODIST 12/23/18, COMMUNITY CAROLING

Welcome to Everything Croton--a collection of all things Croton, our history, our homes, our issues, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

On December 23, 2018, Croton's Asbury United Methodist Church in the historic Upper Village held a community caroling event on their "front porch".  Click on the photo; click here to see more.

YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY THE TOP 3 ASBURY METHODIST ARTICLES, 2018, at https://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-top-three-asbury-methodist-church.html

Note: All content on this blog is Copyright (c) by Maria Cudequest and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content or photos may be republished or sold, without prior written from your editor and the individual who contributed the content in question. For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact the editor.  

BY SPECIAL REQUEST: THE 2018 LIFE-SIZED HOLY NAME NATIVITY

Welcome to Everything Croton--a collection of all things Croton, our history, our homes, our issues, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

A former Croton resident now living in Florida has many fond memories of the exterior life-sized nativity at Holy Name.  By special request, some photos of this year's creche (minus the baby Jesus until Christmas Day as is traditional).  Click on the photos and enjoy.

p.s. The original baby Jesus was taken and never recovered some years ago; you may also enjoy--from 2015, A CROTON ON HUDSON EPIPHANY TALE; click here. 

Note: All content on this blog is Copyright (c) by Maria Cudequest and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content or photos may be republished or sold, without prior written from your editor and the individual who contributed the content in question. For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact the editor.  

IN THE NEWS---DEMOCRATS PRESS JUDICIAL NOMINEE ABOUT KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS MEMBERSHIP

THE DAILY CALLER--Democrats Press Judicial Nominee About Knights Of Columbus Membership

Two Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are pressing a nominee for the Nebraska federal trial court about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal service organization of the Catholic Church.  Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Kamala Harris of California submitted written questions in December to Brian Buescher, an Omaha lawyer nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, proposing that he resign his affiliation with the knights, which they call an “all male society” that “has taken a number of extreme positions” on social questions.

The Catholic News Agency was first to report on Hirono and Harris’ questions respecting the Knights of Columbus.  The leadership of the knights expressed disappointment that membership in their organization would be viewed as a disqualifier for public office.

“Our country’s sad history of anti-Catholic bigotry contributed to the founding of the Knights of Columbus, and we are proud of the many Catholics who overcame this hurdle to contribute so greatly to our country,” said Kathleen Blomquist, a spokeswoman for the knights. Read much more here.

YOU MAY ALSO HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE TOP THREE KOFC ARTICLES IN 2018 HERE AT EVERYTHING CROTON https://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2018/12/top-three-most-read-holy-name-knights.html

AND A LOOK BACK AT--AND FORWARD WITH--HOLY NAME OF MARY'S KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, COUNCIL 4730; MORE HERE 

PHOTOS, THE 2018 CROTON FIRE DEPARTMENT CANDY CANE RUN

Welcome to Everything Croton--a collection of all things Croton, our history, our homes, our issues, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

Santa was greeted with picture-perfect weather today during the Croton Fire Department's Annual Candy Cane Run 2018. Click on the photos and enjoy. 

SEE MORE COURTESY OF THE CROTON FD, CLICK HERE

Note: All content on this blog is Copyright (c) by Maria Cudequest and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content or photos may be republished or sold, without prior written from your editor and the individual who contributed the content in question. For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact the editor.   

MORE VIRTUE SIGNALING, A 12/20/18 GAZETTE LETTER FROM BOB ANDERSON

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.  

THE FOLLOWING LETTER APPEARED IN THE 12/20/18 EDITION OF THE GAZETTE:

TO THE EDITOR:

I recently submitted an email question to the Board asking if there was any documentation to indicate if the new 25 mph speed limit has made a difference in driving behavior, especially speeding, since I’ve seen no change.  Sadly, the Board had no baseline from which to measure and apparently no records of traffic stops, tickets, etc. 

Residents who work in the corporate world know that measurements, data collection and analysis are part of the daily operation: it is what decisions and policies are based on.

In Croton, our Board has implemented a law that has no measurable effect since passage of the law was not based on any Village data, nor is any data being collected to assess the efficacy of the new law.  The new traffic policy started with signs that were erected even though they were prohibited under state law, and now this law.  The process was flawed from the start and it seems to be a systemic problem.

This Board has to do a better job of due diligence before implementing new laws and procedures.  Making policy based on your gut feeling is no substitute for making policy based on data and following up to see that the policy change has achieved the desired result. That is true whether we are managing a corporation or a village.

My theory is that the Mayor who is the liaison to the Bicycle Pedestrian Committee was pushed to act based on an old study that states there are fewer accidents if you drive 25 mph.  True enough and if lowered it to 20 mph and then 15 mph it would continue to decrease.

I searched the Village website to find the minutes of the Bike/Ped committee and could not find any data regarding speeding and accidents in Croton.  This might have helped me to understand how this was discussed and came to be.  I conclude that without enforcement and measurements you have a law that is nothing more than virtue signaling. 

Bob Anderson

MORE FABULOUS VINTAGE WEBSITES, FINDS, ETC. FROM EVERYTHING CROTON

After some downtime from "Christmas cleaning"(!), your editor found an hour (or two) to go through the old Photoplay Magazines from 1941 and 1942 again--something we've wanted to do for a long time. The war years were certainly interesting times in the movie business.

First up, an ad from 1942 for the quintessential holiday movie featuring Irving Berlin's White Christmas--Holiday Inn. It's followed by a fabulous 1941 shot of Lucille Ball. We tend to remember her only as that wacky I LOVE LUCY--when in actuality, she was really quite pretty. And Ball is followed by a simply marvelous shot of Errol Flynn, 1941....click on the photos and enjoy!

There's something about honeycomb tissue decorations--any time of year--one of our favorite sources is PARTY CHEAP.

And then of course there's always Blumchen  www.blumchen.com

AND BEWARE of the Christmas scammers, an interesting message from Paul Race of FAMILY CHRISTMAS ONLINE that's unfortunately necessary year after year; click here 

FOR FANS OF DIAMOND DUST AND DOLLY TOY CO. HOUSE INTERPRETATIONS; an oldie but goodie here

 

LOOKING TO MAKE "BILLBOARDS" FOR YOUR TRAIN LAYOUTS OR CHRISTMAS VILLAGES: SOME EXCELLENT RESOURCES AND MORE. CLICK HERE. 

SOME OF OUR VERY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS CANDY/COOKIE TINS--relatively recent; the graphics on these Harry London tins are outstanding; click here

AND IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

--Okpat's 2018 village--MOONSTRUCK! MORE HERE
--HOUSTON PUTZ AFTER DARK; MORE HERE
--Antoinette Stockenberg's 2018 Christmas Mantle, CHRISTMAS BY THE SEA, MORE HERE 
--LEBEN'S 2017 CHRISTMAS PUTZ VILLAGE; more here 
--2018 family room mantle featuring houses by Fey and Lamey; MORE HERE
--DIANNE'S 2018 VILLAGES; more here

--YAHOO! THE DECEMBER 2018 TRAINS-N-TOWNS(TM) NEWSLETTER HAS ARRIVED! READ AND SEE SO MUCH MORE AT http://www.bigindoortrains.com/trains_n_towns/18_12_newsletter_indoor.htm

--A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE MILADA JEZEK AND HER AMAZING CHRISTMAS PUTZ DISPLAYS; MORE HERE

Note: All content on this blog is Copyright (c) by Maria Cudequest and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content or photos may be republished or sold, without prior written from your editor and the individual who contributed the content in question. For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact the editor.

NEW FROM OUR FRIENDS AT EFSP: PHOTO BY FOX FILM

COURTESY OF EUROPEAN FILM STAR POSTCARDS: During the silent era, Fox Film Corporation was a multimillion-dollar empire controlling a large portion of the exhibition, distribution, and production of film facilities. Fox Film was founded in 1915 by William Fox, a Hungarian-American motion picture executive with enormous entrepreneurial drive and vision. He made film stars of William Farnum, Theda Bara and Janet Gaynor, earned millions with the Westerns of Tom Mix and Buck Jones, and produced the silent classics What Price Glory (Raoul Walsh, 1926), Seventh Heaven (1927), and Sunrise (1927). READ AND SEE MUCH MORE HERE.

CLICK ON THE POSTCARD TO SEE MADGE BELLAMY; READ MORE ABOUT HER HERE

NEW FROM EFSP: THE BIG PARADE

New from our friends at EUROPEAN FILM STR POSTCARDS: The Big Parade (1925) 

The melodramatic romance and World War I epic The Big Parade (1925) is one of MGM's all-time biggest hits and one of the classics of the silent film era. John Gilbert plays a young American soldier, who witnesses the horrors of 'the Great War'. French actress Renée Adorée and Danish actor Karl Dane co-starred and King Vidor was the director. The film stills were made by Ruth Harriet Louise.  READ AND SEE MORE HERE.

Note: All content on this blog is Copyright (c) by Maria Cudequest and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content or photos may be republished or sold, without prior written from your editor and the individual who contributed the content in question. For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact the editor.

FROM THE NY POST AND SUSAN KONIG, TELL YOUR KIDS THE TRUTH: SANTA IS REAL

Welcome to Everything Croton--a collection of all things Croton, our history, our homes, our issues, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON. 

AND NOW FROM FORMER CROTON RESIDENT AND NOTED AUTHOR, SUSAN KONIG:

NY POST - TELL YOUR KIDS THE TRUTH: SANTA IS REAL

I ran into a neighbor and her daughter in our lobby recently. The daughter dashed for the stairs, while her mom and I waited for the elevator. I thought the girl was trying to beat her mother to their apartment. Following elevator etiquette, I gave the mom a little smile and a nod. She sighed, then suddenly confessed to me: “She just found out there’s no Santa.”

For a moment, I considered staring at her blankly and then gasping: “There’s no Santa?” Instead, I replied, “Oh, is she OK?”

“She’s furious at me for lying to her for 10 years.”  

READ MORE AT https://nypost.com/2018/12/21/tell-your-kids-the-truth-santa-is-real/

FOR MORE FROM SUSAN KONIG AND COMPANY---VISIT https://www.willowstreetpress.com/

Note: All content on this blog is Copyright (c) by Maria Cudequest and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content or photos may be republished or sold, without prior written from your editor and the individual who contributed the content in question. For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact the editor.

MORE FABULOUS VINTAGE WEBSITES, FINDS, ETC. FROM EVERYTHING CROTON

By special request from a reader--more Dolly Toy Co. houses from Lynn and Howard; to the right, one from Howard...

That's followed by one of our favorite churches---this one from Lynn--and finally a great ad from 1959 featuring four of the most popular TV shows at the time:

Mackenzie's Raiders, Bold Venture, Sea Hunt and Highway Patrol (with Broderick Crawford of course!). Click on the photos and enjoy!

For the link to Howard's Dolly repro by special request, go to bit.ly/1WjiXcv

Another great Marxville Diner circa 1950's, the Marx #3771 diner to be exact--this one in red and silver--just begging to be "putz-i-fied": bit.ly/1pFsyQC

For repairing antique Christmas ornaments--a source for authentic German Bullion Crinkle Wire; more here 

Okpat's 2018 village--MOONSTRUCK! MORE HERE 

In case you missed it, HOUSTON PUTZ AFTER DARK; MORE HERE

LEBEN'S 2017 CHRISTMAS PUTZ VILLAGE; more here

2018 family room mantle featuring houses by Fey and Lamey; MORE HERE

1958 NOMA CHRISTMAS CATALOG; MORE HERE

--YAHOO! THE DECEMBER 2018 TRAINS-N-TOWNS(TM) NEWSLETTER HAS ARRIVED! READ AND SEE SO MUCH MORE AT http://www.bigindoortrains.com/trains_n_towns/18_12_newsletter_indoor.htm

--TOM HULL'S OUTSTANDING EARLY PUTZ HOUSE COLLECTION--MOSTLY HACIENDAS--now on display at a local museum; click HERE and keep scrolling away to see them all

--A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE MILADA JEZEK AND HER AMAZING CHRISTMAS PUTZ DISPLAYS; MORE HERE

--HENRIETTA'S CRANBERRY SALAD FROM FAMILYCHRISTMASONLINE RECIPES--this one is fantastic at thanksgiving but great at Christmas too--see them all; more here

--Diann's 2018 Villages; more here 

Note: All content on this blog is Copyright (c) by Maria Cudequest and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content or photos may be republished or sold, without prior written from your editor and the individual who contributed the content in question. For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact the editor.

MISSED BOND PAYMENT, MONEY FOR TOUGH MAN: WHO'S WATCHING OUT FOR TAXPAYERS

Welcome to Everything Croton--a collection of all things Croton, our history, our homes, our issues, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON. 

AN IMPORTANT LETTER FROM THE 12/20/18 EDITION OF THE GAZETTE:

Missed bond payment, money for Tough Man: who's watching out for taxpayers

To the editor:

The Village of Croton-on-Hudson spends a great deal of effort to stay at the cutting edge of social justice. Our village government is concerned with the global issues, and we devote village resources to that end. We truly do “think globally” and I realize that is the focus of our village elected officials and municipal staff.

Two recent events remind us that we must occasionally turn our attention to the mundane concerns of running a municipality.

The first instance was the “write-off” of $5,524.93 by our Board of Trustees at the November 5 meeting.

“Write-off” is a fancy way of saying to stick it to the taxpayers of Croton. Adding salt to the wound is the identity of the debtor benefiting from the “write-off”—none other than Richard Izzo’s “Tough Man Enterprises.”

As readers may recall, Mr. Izzo was a favorite of some of our elected officials, including a former Mayor of Croton. Many residents and businesses complained about the inconvenience to residents and economic damage to village businesses, but Mr. Izzo was a friend of the political powers and so he continued to make money at the expense of Croton residents and business owners.

Mr. Izzo left Croton after a village election went against some of his political buddies, but don’t worry: he has done quite well since. With 18 “Tough Man” competitions around the world, multiple sponsors including financial powerhouse Morgan Stanley, and offices in tony Rye Brook, Richard Izzo’s company is not short on cash.

Mr. Izzo remains politically active, rubbing elbows with influential people and lobbying Governor Cuomo about the state budget. Given Mr. Izzo’s history with the Croton Dems, it is understandable that the trustees wanted to give him a little Christmas gift for old times’ sake.

Ostensibly it was simply too much nuisance to collect from Mr. Izzo’s company. According to Village Manager King’s October 31 memo, there were “discussions” with the village attorney, village engineer, village auditor and also “several attempts of reaching out” to get the debt paid. Therefore the Village Manager sought permission to have the Village treasurer write-off the $5,524.93 debt.

Is there anyone reading this who believes the Village of Croton would let them slide on a $5,524.93 debt? Even filing a one-page form and paying a $15 filing fee in small claims court would have allowed for a $3,000 recovery. I’m sure that all those “discussions” among village officials and attorneys cost taxpayers more than $15.

And what is the problem with having the village attorney do his/her job and collect the full $5,524.93? We pay for our village attorney to do legal work on property tax “charity” schemes that are in violation of federal law. We pay for the village attorney to consult on rules to curtail speech during “public comment” period at Village Board meetings (some of those rules are unconstitutional, but that is another story). We pay for the village attorney to sit for hours on end while members of the Board of Trustees rail against the social injustices of the world and pass resolutions telling Albany and Washington what to do.

Is it really too much to ask that the village attorney and village treasurer protect the taxpayers of Croton?

Assuming that Ms. King’s litigation cost argument has merit, then why doesn’t the village at least start—today—demanding a provision for recovery of attorney fees and collection costs in future contracts? That way the Board of Trustees could still give their friend Mr. Izzo our $5,524.93 but at least the taxpayers of Croton will not get stiffed again.

The second surprise was on December 1, when we found out by reading the morning financial news that Croton had missed a bond payment last summer.

The same village machinery which is so efficient when it comes to churning out feel-good resolutions and announcing marches and diversity fairs was unable to find time to tell us of the bond payment failure. In fact, to date no elected official or village staff member has addressed the bond nonpayment in public, and I doubt they ever will do so.

As with the uncollected debt from Mr. Izzo, the village failed to tell us why the payment failure occurred and what steps were taken to prevent recurrence.

For the first time in 120 years, Croton missed a bond payment. Supposedly this bond payment was not made because it occurred at the start of the fiscal year. I don’t understand what this has to do with anything.

This is not like forgetting to pay your cable bill, nor is this a common occurrence in municipal finance. The village has new fiscal years on a regular basis—in fact I am told they happen at the same time every year, hence the term “fiscal year.” Croton is no stranger to bond payments, since we are one of the most heavily indebted municipalities per capita in the State of New York.

Even if the village treasurer was out sick on June 1 or in a rush to head out early on a summer Friday, why is it that the payment was not made until Depository Trust Company called the following Tuesday to ask why the payment had not been made? There is a whole staff at the Municipal Building and presumably someone to fill in if the village treasurer is otherwise occupied or distracted.

I can understand making checkbook errors; I have been known to make a few myself. But I am not a $20 million per year municipal corporation with $30 million in debt.

If I was as dependent as Croton is on people lending me money, I would consider hiring accountants and accounts payable staff to make sure I kept my creditors happy. At very least I would schedule my bond payment dates in Google Calendar, and maybe even consider scheduling the bank wire the afternoon before the due date in case there was a problem on the morning the payment was due.

I don’t mind the decision by our Board of Trustees to “think globally.” It is kinda cute to see our Croton board meetings mimic a grade school model United Nations. I also understand that great minds are annoyed by having to deal with pesky accounting issues. But both of the recent issues raise concern about sloppy fiscal management and a lack of oversight by our village officials.

--Paul Steinberg, Croton-on-Hudson

THE TOP THREE CROTON ARBORETUM ARTICLES AT EVERYTHING CROTON IN 2018

Welcome to Everything Croton--a collection of all things Croton, our history, our homes, our issues, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

TIME FOR THE ANNUAL "TOP", "MOST READ" LISTS AT EVERYTHING CROTON...AND NOW....THE TOP THREE CROTON ARBORETUM ARTICLES AT EVERYTHING CROTON IN 2018:

#1, A FABULOUS TUESDAY AUTUMN MORNING AT THE CROTON ARBORETUM, TURCO'S IN YORKTOWN, AND GIOVANNI'S; MORE HERE

#2, JANE E. LYTLE CROTON ARBORETUM CELEBRATES COMPLETION OF HANDICAPPED BOARDWALK; more here

#3, PHOTOS, 2018, 12th ANNUAL WINTER TREE WALK; more here

FOR MORE ABOUT THE CROTON ARBORETUM, VISIT  http://www.crotonarboretum.org/support-us/

MORE FABULOUS VINTAGE WEBSITES, FINDS, ETC. FROM EVERYTHING CROTON

Yes indeed...Santa says: Wear Your Lucky Birthstone--Hint for it Broadly--Wear it with Pride--an ad from 1947.

It's followed by just a small portion of this year's family room Christmas Tree village...and Mariaville!

And finally a 1960 ad for selling Christmas Cards featuring Art Linkletter.   One of Linkletter's lasting legacies are the many light hearted interview segments with children which appeared regularly on his daytime House Party program entitled Kids Say the Darndest Things.   Click on the photos and enjoy.

Worth checking out again - LED BUBBLE LIGHTS; more here

SPECIAL REQUEST FOR AN OLDIE BUT GOODIE: LINDA'S AMAZING MUSHROOM AND MORE CHRISTMAS PUTZ; QUITE A CLEVER AND ORIGINAL ARRANGEMENT http://bit.ly/1YyMMuL

Nice wartime toy, P-39, goes great with Built-Rite's Army Hangar--this hangar is fabulous and could bea putz project as well--because after all, every putz village needs a plane hangar! CLICK HERE

In fact here are scans of all the different hangar pieces; CLICK HERE

HOUSTON PUTZ 2018 AFTER DARK! More here 

MORE STORIES OF CHRISTMAS FROM FAMILY CHRISTMAS  ONLINE HERE

Everything you ever wanted to know about Raphael Tuck postcards, chromos and more http://www.everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2015/12/raphael-tuck-sons.html 

SCROOGE 1951 VERSION; more here 

MORE 1953, AN AMERICAN TOY MEANS REAL CHRISTMAS JOY

Be still our beating hearts--Christmas toys, and so much more...PART TWO of a ten page supplement from one of our vintage magazine hauls at the Sunday Attic Treasures Flea Market in Peekskill----from 1953, when AMERICAN toys were the BEST toys. Click on the images below and enjoy.

Because an American Toy Means Real Christmas Joy...