The Rural We

Community

The Rural We: Marlene Marshall

Marlene Marshall has been many things during her circuitous career. She is now the proprietor of the elegant and cozy vintage clothing store Discipline Park, just off Warren Street at 25 North 5th Street in Hudson, New York. She is also an accomplished artist and designer, and author of three

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The Rural We: Simon Winchester

Simon Winchester is the best-selling author of "The Professor and the Madman" and many other nonfiction titles, including his latest, "Pacific," which is coming out in paperback in October. But more important for our purposes, the British writer, journalist and broadcaster, who was awarded an Order

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The Rural We: David Voorhees

Retired NYU history professor David William Voorhees is the director of both the Jacob Leisler* Institute for the Study of Early New York History and the Jacob Leisler Papers Project, headquartered in Hudson. He’s also managing editor of de Halve Maen (The Half Moon), a quarterly scholarly journal published

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The Rural We: Melvin Collins

Melvin Collins is a resident and homeowner in the Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Community, Soldier On’s 38-member permanent housing cooperative in Pittsfield, Massachusetts that provides formerly homeless veterans with safe and affordable homes. Collins works full time in the facility’s kitchen, helps out with Soldier On’s annual

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The Rural We: Georgia VanZutphen

Georgia VanZutphen, a former OB/GYN nurse, moved to the Hudson Valley from the Albany area about 10 years ago upon her retirement. “Life reinvented for me revolves around my love for the lakes and the Hudson River Valley,” she says, which led to her involvement in the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse

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The Rural We: Aaron Thier

Aaron Thier is the author of "The Ghost Apple" and the just-released "Mr. Eternity." He is the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a columnist for "Lucky Peach," and a regular contributor to "The Nation." A

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The Rural We: Erik Bruun

Erik with his daughter, Rebecca. Last year, Erik Bruun stepped into the job of CEO at SoCo Creamery. This isn't his first engagement in a notable South County institution, though; he's a founding board member of both Railroad Street Youth Project and Project Native. His unexpected

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The Rural We: Ormond Gigli

Ormond Gigli made a name for himself in the early 1950s by photographing fashion models — and then moving on to stars of the stage and screen, musicians, artists, presidents, kings, and foreign lands — for Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, Saturday Evening Post and others. The 90-year-old Gigli, who lives with his

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The Rural We: Aura Whitman

Locals may know Aura Whitman as the proprietor and chef of the beloved Café Reva, which she ran for 11 years on Pittsfield’s Tyler Street, or from her newer venture, nAtURAlly Catering, whose home base is located inside Berkshire Organics. But now there’s a new place to experience

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The Rural We: Pamela Dalton

Hillsdale, New York's Pamela Dalton is a master of the art of Scherenschnitte, a type of paper cutting which was popular in the Pennsylvania Dutch regions of the U.S. in the early 19th century. Each piece is sketched and cut by hand, so no two are exactly

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The Rural We: Steve Katz

Steve Katz is a founding member of the Grammy-winning band Blood, Sweat & Tears; the producer of two albums by his friend, the late Lou Reed; a former vice president of Mercury Records; and a professional photographer. The Kent, Connecticut resident published his memoir, "Blood, Sweat and My Rock

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The Rural We: Cynthia De Pecol

Cynthia De Pecol is a holistic life coach, wellness expert, yoga instructor and “student of life." She lives in Washington, Conn. with her husband Mark, a commercial real estate developer. The pair have purchased property in Roxbury and are planning to build a net zero, fully sustainable home there.

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