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| Volume 1, Issue 3 |
September 2009 |
Sands
Ring News |
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Special
points of interest:
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Sands
Ring's Roof Needs an Angel
By Bruce J. Stanley
Atter examining the current state of the roof
on Sands Ring Homestead Museum, Albert Conley,
Head of the Town of Cornwall Building and Grounds
Department, says we need a new roof as soon as
possible. The Board of Truatees agrees that the
Homestead needs the help of an angel or maybe
the help of many angels. The estimated costs to
replace our aging roof with cedar shakes is about
$50,000. The Town also got a quote on replacing
the shake roof with architectural asphalt roofing
material and the story there isn't much better.
The cost for thls is approximately $30,000. According
to Conley, it is costly because they have to get
to bare wood and put down a new underlayment.
The
Town's budget, given the current financial state
of all agencies, is so tight that for the foreseeable
future only basic services across the town can
be covered. Conley hopes that the roof will last
at least thorough this winter. Safety will never
be compromised.
The
current cedar shake roof was donated by the generosity
of Ralph E. Ogden back in the 1960's. Thank goodness
for people like Mr. Ogden. The Board of Trustees
is discussing our alternatives. We continue to
investigate aggressively all grant leads, but
again, given the current financial climate a lot
of these have dried up.
I
guess Albert Conley is right . . . we need help
now. An angel or maybe many angels can assist
us and the Town of Cornwall deal with our short
and long-term crisis. It would be a crime to let
such a piece of Comwall's history deteriorate
to extinction.
If
you have any ideas or contacts regarding this
project, contact the Board of Trustees at sandsring
friend at yahoo.com or call the Homestead at 845-534-4829.
Also, we are creating a Roofing Fund.
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Sands Ring Now on Facebook!
By Colleen A. Zlock
In Apnl, Sands Ring launched its official page
on the social network Facebook. After only a few
short months, we already have an impressive 172
fans. Many are former students and parents using
the interesting wall to express their gratitude
for the school programs we offer and others their
support for the preservation of the homestead
and the history it keeps alive in the community.
Please find us on Facebook and become a fan, too!
Learn interesting facts about Sands Ring history,
keep posted on upcoming events, open houses and
news. We invite you to share your memories of
the homestead.
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A
Chance Meeting Leads To New Heating System for
Sands Ring Homestead
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By Gerry Wagner |
I attend virtually all Cornwall
Town Board meetings. I have questioned my own
sanity at times for doing so as there does seem
to be a heavy dose of masochism involved. .. ..
. .that said, I'm glad I did attend a work session
meeting earlier this summer.
Town Board meetings tend to attract the same audience
month to month, (I call us the "peanut gallery").
This particular meeting however, I noticed a couple
who I had never seen at a meeting before and they
were sitting right next to me. As the meeting
was opened up to public comment they introduced
themselves as Bruce and Sally Stanley with whom
the board seemed very
familiar.
Bruce and Sally began to describe the needs
of the Sands Ring Homestead Museum and as they
went through their list which seemed similar to
most "to do lists" for any home, I became
particularly attentive when they mentioned the
need for a new heating system. Comfort systems
have been my career virtually my entire adult
life, (started working fix a local boiler manufacturer
right out of high school because they had a college
tuition reimbursement program). I knew when I
heard Bruce and Sally's need for assistance that
I could help with thie particular project.
I have to admit I didn't how exactly what Sands
Ring Homestead was but I had been looking for
an opportunity where I could give back to the
town where my wife and I have lived for more than
fourteen years and thls seemed right up my alley.
Once I learned that Sands Ring is a home built
in 1760 the opportunity to install a boiler in
a home with such history, (and mechanical
challenges), really got my creative juices flowing.
I have been in the heating business for 29 years
now and I have been very fortunate to have encountered
many wonderful people in the industry who have
influenced my career and helped me along the way.
I knew I could call on many of these people to
provide needed materials for the project so I
began writing some emails requesting assistance
in the form of required components
for a new heating systam.
I had one huge obatacle which I was very concerned
about however.. . . . ..it was myself. Twenty-nine
years of heavy lifting and working in strange
positions in small boiler rooms had taken its
toll on my knees and I knew I could not do the
work required at the Homestead by myself . That's
when I called on a dear fiend who is a life long
resident of Cornwall, Bruce Perry of Perry
Plumbing, Heating &Cooling.
Bruce and his wife Leslie are great fiends of
myself and my wife and we often travel together
but now I needed ta ask a huge favor of Bruce..
. .... could he provide much of the labor required
to install the boiler at Sands Ring? I have to
admit I was trying to come up with some clever
way of asking him because I knew this was no small
favor but I decided to just hit him straight on
with it and before I was able to complete my request
he said "sure I will help"!
As you can imagine, the Homestead posed some
unique challenges with the install ... ..none
the least being getting a 350 pound cast iron
boiler up the stairs to the second floor mechanical
room, (a closet really). Bruce and his employee
Pete had to maneuver the boiler gently through
the 90 degree turn in the narrow steps which at
times, I have to admit, I thought might be a deal
breaker for the project. Persietence paid off
and once the boiler was upstairs we began the
process of installation and within 48 hours the
Homestead was ready for whatever a cold Cornwall
winter could throw at it.
Some technical details of the project:
- Boiler is a HydroTherm HW-100-CON providing
72,000 BTUH of heat to the home.
- The home presently requires only about 2/3
of the boiler's output so there is plenty of
capacity to expand the radiation in the home
at a later date if needed.
- The home is split into two heating zones,
(upstairs and downstairs), and additional piping
for a third zone was installed for future projects.
- All components of the heating system are
brand new, valves, circulator, expansion tank,
etc.
My experience with this project has inspired
me to accept a position on the Board of trustees
at the museum and I have thrown my name into the
hat for the position of vice president on the
Board as well. I am thankful for the opportunity
the project offered me to contribute to the town
I love so much and to work with othere who feel
the same way.
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Gerry Wagner and the entire Board
of Trustees would like to give Special THANKS
to:
Bruce Perry I Perry Plumbing Heating & Cooling
Tim Markel, VP of Mestek, Inc / HydroTherm
Boilers
Mickey McPhillips I Taco, Inc.
Al Conley I Supt. of Buildings & Grounds Town
of Cornwall
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Thanks to our corporate sponsors: |
Becton
Dickinson for new banners and printed materials
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Need
for Additional Volunteers |
With a small Board
of Trustees and an even smaller educational staff,
we need additional volunteers to help us with
our 2010 events. If you enjoy history and wish
to help out, please join Friends of Sands Ring
and indicate your wish to volunteer .
If you’re on our current list of volunteers,
Thank you! We will be contacting you.
If you would like to volunteer, we really need
and appreciate your assistance. Call us at 845-534-4829
or e-mail us at sandsringfriends@yahoo.com
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Upstairs Improvements |
| Thanks to Cornwall's Building and
Grounds Crew for the renovations in the upstairs
kitchen and bathroom area. These include installing
new floor tile (donated by Friends of Sands Ring
Homestead Museum), removing old, non-working appliances
and bathroom fixtures, and reconstructing the bathroom
walls. Also, Thanks to Bruce Perry for relocating
the sink and other bathroom repairs. Thanks again
to Town of Cornwall Supervisor Kevin Quigley for
your continued support! |
Tories
or Patriots?
For those of you who are wondering if the Sands Family
were in fact, Tories, or were they sympathetic to the
patriotic cause.
Our answer is yes we believe they were patriots. From
their actions we can surmise
they were in favor of independence.
Clementine hid the flint from the British army when
they came knockin at the door. Emptying the flint keg
in the hollow of a nearby tree, she showed the empty
keg to the soldiers saying, "I fear the keg is
empty."
Years later, as the tree decayed, Clementine's grand
children and great grandchildren found pieces of flint
on the ground
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