Caroline, NY: How A CG fits in with other good works

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Caroline Town Talk: End of the year means time for reflection

PATRICIA BRHEL

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"My next car is going to have a plate holder to go with the cup holder." I 
announced while brushing crumbs from my shirt. 

Most everyone in the room nodded in agreement. It's been a busy year, with 
the next one rushing toward us and we've all done too much "dash-board dining" 
between work, family, volunteer commitments and the usual holiday rush. It 
seems like we just finished the fall chores, but the new seed catalogs are already 
here. 

Fortunately, this is the time of year that we are encouraged to stop, take a 
deep breath and reflect on the past 12 months and the year that lies ahead. 

We've lost a few good people in Caroline this year. The latest was Charlie 
Lasher. Until recently Charlie, with his friend Suzanne Applegarth, helped 
deliver food pantry boxes to Fountain Manor. They were both a wealth of information 
last year when we were learning this new job. He was a kind man and will be 
missed by many. 

A plaque was installed at the town hall in memory of our late library 
volunteers Phillip Stanion, Margaret Scriber and Anne Kirtland. The library will be 
closed this weekend, reopening on Jan. 3. 

Good things have happened too. The Town of Caroline now gets its energy from 
renewable resources. Our new town clerk has been quick to learn her job. The 
highway department continues to work hard to keep town roads in good condition. 
During this last snowstorm I noticed that some of the town roads were 
actually easier to drive on than the main roads. 

The food pantry is helping more people every month, now over 170 families. 

We have been fortunate this year, receiving donations of storage space, 
clothing, kitchen utensils and tools in addition to food from community members. 
With the help of VISTA volunteers and community members we grew bushels of 
tomatoes, peppers, beans, potatoes, greens and squash in the food pantry garden in 
2004. It was a good harvest, though the garden got a little weedy at the end 
of the season when the VISTA volunteers finished their year of service and went 
off to graduate school and jobs. We need more volunteers for 2005. A few 
hours spent in the food pantry garden will help the community, give you a little 
exercise and be an opportunity to learn more about gardening. Call Pat at 
539-9928 if you can help. 

If you can grow extra produce in your own garden this year the Garden Writers 
Association "Plant a Row for the Hungry" program can help with information. 
Check out the Web site at www.gardenwriters.org/par/. Some seed companies will 
send an extra pack of seeds for participants --check when you place this 
year's order. The first Caroline food pantry of the year will be from 6:30-7:30 
p.m. Jan. 3. 

All three fire companies have made or are making improvements. Consider 
joining the nearest fire company. It's not only a good way to help Caroline but, in 
many ways, to help yourself. 

The flower bed at the town hall that the Caroline Youth Group renovated last 
year was a treat this summer. The bushes and flowers in around the sign 
planted by Molly Adams, with help from Barry looks better every year. The barrels in 
Brooktondale and the garden surrounding the Community Center sign brightened 
up that hamlet and the Speedsville Commons looks better all the time. 

To subscribe to the Brooktondale newsletter, which covers activities in the 
Town of Caroline, contact Barry Adams at 539-7815. It's only $40 a year to 
become a newsletter sponsor and the newsletter reaches 1,000 households each 
month. Sponsorship checks can be mailed to the Center at P.O. Box 135, 
Brooktondale, NY 14817. The newsletter is free to subscribers, though of course donations 
are always gladly accepted. 

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Caroline Town Talk runs every other Wednesday in the Our Towns page. If you 
have questions, ideas or information for the column, call Patricia Brhel at 
539-9928 or e-mail LSPARROW@hotmail.com 

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