Friday, October 16, 2026

BY SPECIAL REQUEST--YOUR EDITOR'S PHOTO ALBUM, HALLOWEEN WINDOW PAINTING 2012, CROTON

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.

BY SPECIAL REQUEST--YOUR EDITOR'S PHOTO ALBUM, HALLOWEEN WINDOW PAINTING 2012, CROTON---SOME OUTSTANDING WINDOWS!

GO TO HALLOWEEN WINDOW PAINTING CONTEST 2012 | Flickr

A VULTURE CAKE TOPPER!

A reader writes: My grandson was born on Halloween and we have had Halloween-themed birthday parties---at his request--ever since he joyfully made the connection. 

We have turned to the blog for assorted party suggestions (thank you) but wanted to give a special shout-out to PAPER GLITTER GLUE for the VULTURE CAKE TOPPER IDEA.  While mine will probably NOT be as elegant, it's been fun to see him so inspired: Make a Vulture Cake Topper - Paper Glitter Glue

RESPONSE: YOUR WELCOME!  YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY EverythingCroton: THE GOOD OLD HALLOWEEN DAYS---HALLOWEEN CEREAL PREMIUMS, MONSTER GUMBALL VENDING ITEMS, THE 1978 TRAVELER'S PARTY PICKS AND CAKE TOPPERS CATALOG

NOTICE OF DEATH: BILLY WHALEN

A reader writes: Please inform the bllog's followers that Billy Whalen, Croton-Harmon Class of 1972 72 passed away on October 3rd. There was no service.

ICYMI--MINGLE AT McKEON'S

Join us for an evening of music, refreshments, and conversation ahead of the upcoming Village of Croton-on-Hudson election this November.

Hosted by: John McKeon on behalf of the Voice of Croton

Date: Saturday, October 17

Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Location: The 1900 Stone Carriage House

25 Prospect Place, Croton-on-Hudson

(Directions: Located at the crest of Prospect Place. Please enter through the double gates.)

Featuring:

• Live music

• Wine and soda

Admission is free and open to all village residents. Donations are gratefully accepted to support the Voice of Croton but are absolutely not required for attendance.

Come meet your neighbors, share your perspective with the candidates and if you don’t, Sam Watkins for village judge, Mary Lynn Diabola for trustee we look forward to and discuss the future of our community. We look forward to seeing you there.

TRANSPARENCY/FOIL/OPEN MEETINGS ISSUEs----PAULIN PUSHES BILLS TO EXPAND BOTH TO GOVERNMENT-AFFILIATED NONPROFITS

Being intensely discussed on one of the New Rochelle pages:



...Local development corporations, or LDCs, are nonprofit entities frequently used by municipal and county governments to finance development projects, provide loans, support small businesses and undertake other public-purpose activities.

Although they perform functions associated with government and may use public resources, their nonprofit status can place them outside transparency requirements that ordinarily apply to government agencies.

According to Paulin’s office, the New York State Comptroller has warned that local governments sometimes use LDCs to circumvent transparency and public scrutiny requirements. MORE AT Amy Paulin Pushes Bills to Expand FOIL and Open Meetings Law to Government-Affiliated Nonprofits - Talk of the Sound



Thursday, October 15, 2026

10/15 BOE WORK SESSION--FROM THE CROTON.NEWS AI SITE--CROTON-HARMON ACCEPTS AUDIT AS STUDENT DATA SHARPENS CURRICULUM PLANS

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







Expanded eighth-grade algebra access and plans for aligned K–5 math materials shaped the October 15 work session. Trustees also accepted the annual audit and corrective-action plan, 5–0. MORE AT Croton-Harmon accepts audit as student data sharpens curriculum plans — Croton-on-Hudson, NY

WESTCHESTER COUNTY PROPOSES $435.7M BUDGET FOR HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Read more at Westchester County Proposes $435.7M Capital Budget for Housing and Infrastructure - Talk of the Sound


REMINDER 10/17- CROTON POINT PARK'S FORGOTTEN COMMUNITY: THE BUNGALOW COLONY

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




Every summer from 1926 until 1964, the Croton Point Park Association took up residence in their bungalow colony at Croton Point Park. They had a baseball team, a community center, weekly dances, a flourishing newspaper. We will look into how this group lived, what life was like, and what happened after their houses were torn down. A lecture with slides, archival media, and a Q+A afterwards, taking place in the Nature Center.

10/17 2-3:30 pm Croton Point Park’s Forgotten Community: The Bungalow Colony – Westchester County Parks Events Calendar

1965, WINKLER'S APPLIANCE CENTER

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

Stumbled upon this 1965 ad for Winkler's; click on the image.

For more about Winkler's, go to 

ON TONIGHT'S BOE AGENDA --STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT RESULTS ELA--3-8 PROFICIENCY AT 69% DOWN FROM 76% WHILE.......


Student results and curriculum

The newly posted achievement report’s ELA summary table, page 5, lists average grades 3–8 proficiency at 69% in 2025–26, down from 76% in 2024–25. Those are the report’s rounded averages across grade levels, not a measure of how the same students changed from one year to the next. Grades 6 and 8 rose in the table while the other four grades declined.

The report identifies aligning ELA curriculum across kindergarten through fifth grade as a priority. Its math takeaways, page 11, also call for updating materials and aligning the K–5 math curriculum. The student-achievement item is listed for discussion and presentation. Board of Education — 2026-10-15 — Croton-on-Hudson, NY

YOU DON'T NEED ONE OF THESE...

  ....to find the latest Croton Crafts and Commerce news (with a smattering of other local events too)-----just visit the CROTON CRAFTS AND COMMERCE FB PAGE instead. It's a public page and you needn't be on FB to view the content (or sign in). Often updated in real time too! And the latest product recalls too. Go to Croton Crafts and Commerce | Facebook



OBITUARY AND SERVICE INFO FOR DALE K. BENNETT

......In 1973 she married physicist Charles H. Bennett and they lived in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, for several years parenting the teen-age son of relatives on Charles's side. While in Croton, Dale worked as a reporter and eventually Night City Editor for Westchester Rockland Newspapers and served one summer as head of Croton's renowned Shakespeare Festival, remaining close to the Bennett family after her divorce from Charles in 1986. Around 1990 she moved to Oak Park, Illinois to take a writing job with an IBM subsidiary and was ordained as an Episcopal deacon. MORE AT Dale K. Bennett Obituary Sep 16, 2026 - Lansing Funeral Home

VENDORS WANTED---36TH ANNUAL ST. AUGUSTINE SCHOOL CHRISTMAS CRAFT FAIR

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.

11/21

VENDORS WANTED---36TH ANNUAL ST. AUGUSTINE SCHOOL CHRISTMAS CRAFT FAIR

CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR MORE INFO.

A.I. YADA YADA YADA

Many of us are not on social media but we often get to hear about it and are sometimes sent screenshots or interesting links.

On one of the private parents' forums there's been some lively--and occasionally humorous commentary---about Artifical Intelligence-----and lots of praise for the new Croton.News AI site.  

But there was one article in particular that really triggered much good natured conversation when it provided "a short history of tech fears".  How many of these do you remember?