To truly grasp the spirit of Marbletown, it’s instructive to consider the story of Elsie.
Elsie, a proudly working class, unashamedly cantankerous reminder of the days when the Marbletown hamlet of High Falls was not, as latter-day advertising has christened it, “the center of the universe,” but rather a hardscrabble little postcanal town. Elsie lived in a trailer—not a house trailer, but a camper trailer—near the canal in downtown High Falls, cheek-by-jowl with top-rated restaurants and designated historic sites. The trailer had no running water or electricity; one would probably have to search the farthest corners of Marbletown’s hill-hamlets to find another such residence.
Elsie didn’t have much—her cats, a small garden, an adult son who occasioned as much stress as comfort. But she was no recluse; rather, everyone in High Falls was familiar with the sight of Elsie walking around town on her errands, stopping to chat with everyone.
“She’d never ride when she could walk,” remembers realtor Mary Collins, whose cozily elegant offices are a small stone’s throw from Elsie’s place. “So the help had to be somewhat subtle. Vaughan [Smith, the proprietor of Westcote Bell Pottery] took her cats to be spayed. I arranged firewood deliveries. John Novi [chef/owner of the renowned DePuy Canal House] ran a hose over so she’d have water. Betty Davenport [of the Davenport Farms family] and a lot of other people always gave her clothing. And Aidan [Quinn—yes, that Aidan Quinn] tried to get her a nicer trailer, but the town wouldn’t allow it.”
Thus was Elsie able to maintain her independence and considerable social life for years longer than one might expect. Finally, a medical emergency brought her to the attention of officialdom and she was whisked to the hospital and then to a senior residence—where, hair and nails done and quite contented, she still receives regular visits from her High Falls crew.
Not Your Everyday Mall
High Falls and Stone Ridge are the two most populous hamlets of Marbletown, which sprawls over 55 square miles and is home to roughly 6,000 people. Together, they make up the two limbs of the town’s L-shaped business district. Along Routes 213 (High Falls) and 209 (Stone Ridge) are an eclectic array of places ranging from working farms to arts centers and professional offices, from places to grab a sandwich to elegant traditional dining and haute cuisine foodie havens. As for retail, one could do one’s entire holiday shopping list within Marbletown’s borders, from straight Aunt Mabel’s angel figurines to Cousin Ned’s imported incense and the very latest in food processors for Mom.
National chains are scarce. A Rite Aid pharmacy co-anchors the only thing in town that could be described as a “shopping plaza,” and when its construction was first proposed, things got heated. “I was on the planning board at the time,” recalls Collins, “and it was a huge, huge thing. The original owners had a very high-end, vintagey operation—a dress designer and so on. When the new owner planned a mall—well, most of the land had been a nursery. It meant losing a lot of trees. It was a fight. But we did the best we could, and it turned out pretty decent.”
Not to mention useful. The Town Center shopping complex houses, along with assorted small businesses, the only supermarket for some miles around: Emmanuel’s, with a large selection of organics, hormone-free local meats, sushi—and a good stock of budget-brand staples for the cost-conscious. Local art is showcased on the walls, inside and out—the building is wrapped in a mural depicting a diverse community going about its business—and the cashiers are warmly courteous. Like Elsie moving to her new digs, it’s possible that the worst thing Stone Ridge residents had to fear was fear itself—especially with folks like Collins on the planning board. “The lights would have shone right into the Hasbrouck House,” she says, naming the fanciest inn in the hamlet. “You know that big berm along the side of the parking lot? That’s why it exists.”
Civic Participation
Citizen involvement in government and good works is a Marbletown tradition that’s going strong. When a series of community visioning meetings were held back at the turn of the century, they were scheduled on weekends so that part-time residents and working folks alike could be heard. “Such a wide variety did show up, and everybody got to know each other—it was great,” says Collins.
“From the survey done in 1997 and the visioning process that was done between 2000 and 2002, we’ve moved forward with a lot of great work around conservation and the preservation of both open space and history,” says Brooke Pickering-Cole, who was appointed supervisor last year after serving for four years on the town board and two years as deputy to the previous supervisor, Vin Martello. “Last spring, we decided to create a sustainable economic development task force and move the process along that path, too,” says Pickering-Cole. “We got the new master plan done in 2005—it mandates the preservation of farmland, natural resources, and history. We passed a historic preservation landmark law [Marbletown has over three dozen 18th-century stone buildings] and a bond issue to purchase development rights.” In 2007, the Open Space Institute added another 382 acres of farmland to the over 3,400 acres of Marbletown’s protected rolling hills.
Marbletown, explains Pickering-Cole, calls its open space plan a “natural heritage plan.” “And we have an additional farmland protection plan in draft form,” she says. “All that is only part of the job. It’s a crucial part, but equally crucial is ‘How do we see the community evolving?’ The actual people, I mean. You can have beautiful scenery, but if people aren’t prospering and healthy and happy, so what?” To that end, the economic development task force is holding its own series of visioning meetings. “The task force has been working on ideas for clean energy, micro-farming, balanced housing, and how to retain the younger people and keep the older folks in their homes,” says the supervisor. “They’ll share their ideas, people will get into groups and talk it through. I have no doubt we’ll have our next full plate served up. I love this work.”
Arts and Education
Plenty of full plates get served each weekend in High Falls, where the Canal House—operated by the man dubbed “the father of the new American cuisine” by both Time magazine and the Food Network—has several other eateries as neighbors: the High Falls Cafe, which offers live music and hearty food; the First Bite (the former New York Store), which serves excellent sandwiches; and the delicious Egg’s Nest, where Richard Murphy keeps the menu and the decor equally fresh, eclectic, and fun.
Food for the soul is also in good supply in Marbletown. The Marbletown Arts Association, made up of over 120 visual, literary, and performing artists, immerses the town in culture each fall, when it’s ArtHarvest time. In the spring, the Stone Ridge Library—a 100-year-old organization housed in a stone building that dates to around 1798—hosts its annual fair, a lively explosion of books, music, and food that beckons folks from all over. The library is busy year round, and strives to be up-to-the-minute useful; besides the standard mystery-book groups and kids story hours, it houses a workforce development center and hosts public discussions. There is also a community college, SUNY Ulster, offering a varied menu of continuing education and a private elementary school.
Then there’s MaMA. Also known as Marbletown Multi-Arts, the maturing brainchild of educator and world traveler Robert Evry Mann, the center utilizes a renovated church to offer classes in tai chi, yoga, and dance, in addition to performances and parties. The Ridge Gym, across Main Street, offers other options for mind-body development. And should one need to get well before undertaking such vigorous endeavors, just a hair to the north is the Stone Ridge Center for the Healing Arts.
Things are moving right along in Marbletown in 2009: MaMA is building more studio space, and the town is installing sidewalks along Route 209. Over in High Falls, restoration of the historic Rock Cliff House—long beloved by much of the county as a spot to chill over a beer and a game of pool—is proceeding apace. Plans are under way for a restaurant and inn, with a walking trail connected to the hamlet’s center. A former garage is being converted to shops and a deli.
Good Karma
While both Stone Ridge and High Falls have distinct personalities—as do Marbletown’s outlying hill-hamlets, their winding roads laced with a mix of long-time countryfolk and weekenders—the road between them is becoming much more than a way to get from here to there. A new hamlet of sorts is forming at the corner of Route 213 and Lucas Avenue, where the four corners are anchored by the venerable High Falls Food Co-op, the Morning Brew (a cozy breakfast spot), Jake’s Garage, and Nectar, a three-year-old import emporium summarized as “Home-Art-Tea” on the business card of owner Jenny Wonderling.
After passing a statue of Ganesh and entering Nectar, every sense is engaged. Spicy-clean incense and soaps and herbal tea blend into one light perfume. Polished wood and brass and colorful fabric draw the eye in every direction, and Wonderling has just found a rare blues CD at the request of a customer; its sounds fill the store. Toys and home furnishings and gifts from every continent are attractively arrayed, a great deal of it fair trade; all of the furniture is made from reclaimed wood. The on-site tea salon beckons the wanderer to sit and chat—at which point, if things aren’t too hectic, one is likely to be offered a cup of organic, hand-blended tea. “Amazing things happen over a cup of tea,” Wonderling observes.
Customer Dakota Blair is in search of unique men’s clothing, so Wonderling reaches out to her network, finds a supplier, and hands him the phone. “The British tended to design towns without a central town square, because the weather there was so nasty everybody had to be inside the pub,” Wonderling says. “I think it’s the responsibility of a business owner to provide a substitute town square where people can connect—I think of this as sort of the healthy corner bar. We do readings and parties, and I never know what’s going to happen next on any given day.” The next party in this lushly exotic setting will be held November 7 from 5 to 8pm to celebrate Wonderling’s relaunch as sole proprietress. Her personal celebration: donating 5 percent of all sales between the seventh and December 25 to Family of Woodstock.
If Marbletown is prospering, perhaps it’s the karma incurred by people like Wonderling and Alan Markel of Alan’s Computers. Located in the Stone Ridge plaza, Markel has made it his personal mission to make sure no one who needs a computer goes without. It began with veterans; then he realized that “everybody’s in some kind of a struggle. So I started working with Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Family of Woodstock—anybody who might know who needs a computer,” he explains. “And I tell people to call me, not be embarrassed—we’ve all been through it. I’ve refurbished and passed along something like 400 computers now.”
It may be true that, as a New York Times writer waggishly observed several years ago, “There is no marble in Marbletown.” But from the bluestone hills of Lomontville to the lowlands beside the canal—from Elsie’s trailer to the posh estates of Legget Road—a careful observer can find much that is far more precious than gold.
RESOURCES
Alan’s Affordable Computers www.alanscomputers.net
Depuy Canal House www.depuycanalhouse.net
Egg’s Nest www.theeggsnest.com
Emmanuel’s Marketplace (845) 687-2214
Marbletown Arts Association www.marbarts.com
Marbletown Multi-Arts www.cometomama.org
Mary Collins Real Estate www.marycollinsrealestate.com
Nectar www.nectarimports.com
Rondout Valley Business Association www.rondoutvalleybusinessassociation.org
Rondout Valley Growers Association www.rondoutvalleygrowers.org
Stone Ridge Library www.stoneridgelibrary.org
Town of Marbletown www.marbletown.net
This article appears in November 2009.
