When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going

O&W Historical Relic

It has been spoken, that how one deals with adversity defines the metal of the man (or woman), and in the past several weeks, and more specifically the last two weeks, our Sullivan Renaissance Project here in Mountaindale has faced a great deal of adversity through no fault of our own...it is what it is, and comes with the territory as they say.  Couple that adversity with the monsoon weather we have been getting, and our project is behind schedule.  

"Have no fear, UNDERDOG is here"...I know, dating myself again.

It is pouring down rain again today, and I do mean pouring, so spending my day catching up on all the office work that a project like this entails, and making a great deal of progress, as I wait on the letter from the Town of Fallsburg and Sullivan Renaissance which will clarify certain areas of our project that are in dispute.  We will simply go with the flow, and make whatever necessary adjustments need to be made, and who knows, in some aspects, it could work out even better.

1.  It looks like the landscaping at the entryway is going to be negatively impacted, and so we are already busy with alternative plans.  Rather than give away the opportunity to make a bold vision statement at the entryway, it is the projects intention to simply revamp, redraw our plans, and simply make a beautiful entry way on the inside of the posts that signify the gateway entrance, thus abiding by the terms of the newly draw deliverable s, while at the same time being true to the original artistic statement of the project.

2.  Work was started (on our one dry day) in earnest at the location of our first historic element, and if we can catch a break in the weather (Sunday and Monday), look for some WOW FACTOR to start creeping into the project area as soon as next week...this will be an EXCITING time for us on the committee, and for our intern.

3.  Arrangements were made this week to do a big volunteer day with the local Girl Scouts which will involve two troops, so very excited to have the opportunity to be working with them again on this year's project. 

4.  Clearing and clean up of the project area is almost done, and if we can get a few days of sun so that the area dries out, that portion of the project can be crossed off of our list.

5.  We are really excited that the GREEN ASPECTS of this project are pulling together as nicely as they are. It was our intention to use as much reclaimed materials in the project area as possible, and with a few very GENEROUS DONATIONS from people, pleased to announce that about 85 percent of the sculptural interpretation of the 33 Steam Locomotive will be constructed with recycled lumber and materials.

*CURIOUS...does any one have an old 6"-8" bell they are looking to get rid of?

6.  We have our barrels, and thanks to Raymon Elozua kind offer to use his welding equipment, we hope to get said barrels welded, and construction started on the train this upcoming week.

7.  Our fund raising plans are still in FLUX, though we have so far been very fortunate in receiving a lot of in kind donations.

So, we are digging in, and getting down to the tasks at hand, and hope to have a few more great photos to share next week...the one at the top of this articles is the beginning stages of work on our first historical element on the trail.

Fact Sheet Handout-March 2, 2011 Planning/Volunteers Meeting

As mentioned in the previous posts, tonight we will be holding a planning/volunteers meeting as we progress down the road toward applying for our 2011 Sullivan Renaissance Category B Grant.  Below is a replication of the information sheet that will be handed out at the meeting for any of you who are unable to attend tonight, so that you feel "In the Information Loop"  If you have any questions, suggestions, or would like your name and contact information added to our Volunteer/Donors list, please give Sherwood a call at (845)693-4513.

Mountaindale 2011 Renaissance Project-Volunteers Meeting-March 2, 2011
53 Main St. Mountaindale, NY 12763

As in years past, it is the intention of the Mountaindale Community Development Corporation (MCDC) to participate in this year’s Sullivan Renaissance Project, and to apply for a  Category B Grant.  To qualify for a Category B Grant, our proposal must include at least two components.  Tonight’s meeting is to seek your input into this process so that we can move forward with the task of meeting the Renaissance Committees more stringent guidelines for receiving a grant. 

The most significant changes to the guidelines are:

1.  We must include an actual drawn out and detailed design plan for our project…if there are any drafts people or architects willing to lend a hand in this task, the help would be greatly appreciative.

2.  We must provide (too the best of our ability) a detailed inventory list of the plants we intend to incorporate and use in our projects (including their lighting and water requirements).  If any one has considerable knowledge about the native plants of our area, your help in plant selection would be greatly appreciated.

This year, the three proposed components currently on the table for consideration are:

1.  Sprucing up, cleaning up the main entrance to “Rails to Trails” and adding more landscaping materials to give it a more finished look that has some serious WOW factor to it.  Some (as example) Blackeyed Susan and Shasta Daisies, perhaps some low bedding plants and more defined and edged beds so that what is there, such as the fir tree next too the bench on the left side stand out more, rather than looking as if it had just been stuck there as almost an after thought.

2.  The major proposal would be a significant landscaping effort a bit further in on the trail itself that would begin at the old abandoned switching box with the historical information sign just behind it.  This area would be cleaned up, and bedding plants used to better define and beautify the area.  Further more, gravel for drainage and top soil would be used to turn the old switching box into a structural component of this part of the project as the switching box becomes the first attention getter in what will be a far larger part of the project.

Just back from this switch box are the remnants of an old O&W siding where a large landscaping project would be installed…specifically, the intention is to recapture a feeling of our communities involvement with trains, their rich history, by constructing (using found items and objects from nature) a reasonable facsimile of one of the great old locomotives sitting there in the siding as if coming back to life.  Said engine would then be landscaped around, creating the illusion of the train about ready to pull back onto the tracks.

3.  A third component of this years plans would see us drawing more attention to the bridge behind the school by doing landscaped beds on either side of the bridge abutments, and doing some planting along the bank to help in easing erosion.

Our Needs for the 2011 Sullivan Renaissance Project

1.  Volunteers…VOLUNTEERS

Fact is, though seldom receiving the full recognition they so richly deserve, they are the troopers who make reality work, the soldiers who take dreams and bring them into the reality of our world, and specifically our little hamlet of Mountaindale, NY.

2.  Raw materials…plants, stone, top soil, and of course a host of salvaged materials that will help us build the train (samplings, limbs, old weathered lumber or barn wood, and a host of other things).  Any help in the sourcing and or transportation of these items is greatly needed, and will be instrumental in the success of this years project.

3. Donations of in-kind services…this could be anything from water/beverages for our thirsty volunteers, to hardware items and tools needed for the projects, such as sheet rocking screws, wire  and twine, rakes, shovels and even landscaping timbers.

4.  Actual cash donations…we are very grateful for the generosity of Sullivan Renaissance, and the great help that their grants provide in making these projects happen.  But, $1500 dollars does not go very far when you start purchasing nursery stock, yards of soil, and other necessary items, so donations are always greatly appreciated, as it helps us stretch our budget, and often those donations are what allow us to really polish our projects, and take them over the top to a new level.

A proposal For 2011 Project To Consider...

Mountaindale and our surrounding area have a rich and vibrant history, and a part of that fabric that tells the tale of the ups and down of both Mountaindale, and its surrounding countryside includes a significant tie to the railroad industry dating clear back into the 1800's when construction was begun in the late 1860's, with the railroad open for business in 1873...today, some of those once active train routes that carried people, and coal are now a part of the "Rails to Trails" program that is supported by many groups, organizations and individuals including the Sullivan Renaissance.  It just so happens that Mountaindale is blessed with an entrance point to these wonderful paths that provide walkers, runners and biking enthusiasts a wonderful place in which to exercise while taking in some of the scenic beauty that abounds here in Sullivan County, and the greater Hudson River Valley.

As an artist, I have always been excited at the cycle of life as great things come to life, thrive, decline, and eventually get absorbed back into the natural landscape as Mother Nature reclaims what is hers.  Talk to old timers in the area, and you can hear wonderful tales of coal trains heading down the Red Hill grade, and crossing the Little Falls trestle just east of Mountaindale, and for those of us who love to walk and/or hike, there are signs everywhere it seems of the once great iron steeds that used to move our nations commerce.  Those signs are fading, railroad ties rotting and becoming soil from which new flora and fauna sprout, grow and flourish.  Streams are slowly eroding away the bridge abutments that used to support track that was long ago taken up and moved away.

Looking at this, my artistic mind mulling over this history, I wondered what it would be like to reenact in some small way this rich vibrant history...recreate and relive Mountaindale's historical ties to the rail industry.  As I was pondering this, I found out talking to some of the locals that just inside (maybe 100 yards) our hamlet's portion of the "Rails to Trails" segment are the remnants of a siding station...a space/place where they would park rail cars. (Sure some of our local railroad buffs can correct me if my lingo is not quite accurate?)

My initial thoughts were to spruce up and clean up the entrance to "Rails to Trails", then create a nice landscaping statement at that spot...which as a side note is still on the table, but this to me seemed more like the starting point of a great project, rather than an ending point, so I put some more thought into it.

One of my loves of life is photography, more specifically, I love photographing old barns and homes as they slowly give away their exteriors exposing their delicate skeletal interiors, the sunlight filtered down through trees dancing along its spine as the roof slowly, season after season, collapses in on itself as Mother Nature reclaims the land that was and is always hers.

It was odd...at Saturdays Sullivan Renaissance Winter Conference an idea started jelling in my mind...what if we could clear away and spruce up that old siding, landscape it...more specifically, what if we were to take advantage of Mother Nature's bounty, collect saplings, branches and vines from the surrounding woodland of our area, and use those raw materials to build a reasonable facsimile of one of those old gallant steeds, landscape around it, plant bugle vine, morning glories and other vine type plants around this locomotive, returning it to it's perch once again a part of our present returned magically from the past.

Sitting there listening to the speakers I began drawing a very primitive sketch of this idea...after the presentation of awards, I went to my first seminar...Design 1, and one of the first things the presenter talked about was the importance of a projects bones.  That is when it hit me...such a garden sculpture would be born, rise from the ground, take shape, the vines twining in and around creating a stunning reminder of our once great railroading history...then, over a period of some years (maybe 5-8) this art work, like the trains would slowly decline, eventually collapse into the ground, returning back to Mother Nature what is hers, and in doing so, reenact that same great history which has been lived by the trains that used to whistle through the night as they passed through our community.

So, in a nut shell, I am proposing we clear off that old siding, clean up the area surrounding it, plant two or three flowering ornamental trees, bring in some large stones,  create the illusion of the train coming down the tracks from out of the woods, bursting into sight as travelers on our portion of "Rails to Trails" happen upon it at the start of their journey.  This would be the significant project of a two phase/two element grant application.  

Right now, looking to find other kindred souls that are supportive of this proposal, looking to find people willing (as it were) to buy into the program to breath this vision into reality through the generous donation of their time, talents, goods, services, and even money.  Sullivan Renaissance graciously awards $1500 grants for community beautification, and these projects could never happen without their generous financial support, and the tremendous support to our community given by their staff when we have questions and seek advice. That said, it is amazing how fast funds can vanish when buying and moving a few large stones