Author: Kacie Cotter-Harrigan
Healthy Comfort Foods to Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Last All Year
Many of us start a new year with a fresh set of resolutions, new habits to live by for a healthier, happier self. But a few weeks in, the cold, dark winter can make it hard to keep up our motivation. If you can’t get your healthy food resolutions to stick, change the way you approach them.
Instead of cutting out foods you love and feeling guilty when you inevitably “cheat,” upgrade your favorite comfort meals with real, fresh ingredients to treat both your body and soul. Here are a few tips on what to look for at the farmers’ market.
BACK TO THE ROOTS
In the winter months, farmers bring loads of root vegetables to the market. Himanee Gupta-Carlson from Squashville Farm takes this opportunity to get the comfort of a chicken pot pie in a healthier jacket. Make a roux with a good quality bone broth. Potatoes and turnips help thicken the sauce to reduce additional ingredients needed, and carrots add flavor and color.
SLOW-COOKED FOR THE SOUL
Good quality, fresh meats don’t need many additives to taste great. Lay off on the salt and extra fats and enjoy a cut from the market in its full glory. Longlesson Farm’s Christophe Robert suggests trying beef shanks. It is a leaner (and cheaper) meat, cooked low and slow in a crockpot (bonus: your kitchen will smell amazing!). Simmer with non-starchy vegetables like carrots or turnips. Serve with a quick polenta made from Squashville Farm’s dried heirloom Abenaki corn. Then use the shank’s marrow bone to create a nutrient-filled bone broth and blend it up with the stewed veggies for a hearty soup. Add in a statement ingredient towards the end of cooking, like beet or tomato, to add color.
PLANT-BASED OR GLUTEN-FREE?
If you are trying a no- or low-meat lifestyle, mushrooms can provide a fantastic, bold alternative. Jeff Killenberger from 518 Farms suggests using brain-boosting lions’ mane to make “crab” cakes. Or go for sweet by combining lions’ mane, cinnamon, and sugar for a vegan and gluten-free “apple crisp.”
Butternut squash can also lift a dish by adding nutrients, color, and creaminess. Try a vegan mac & “cheese” by replacing the dairy with butternut squash. Up the health factor by using whole-wheat pasta or go gluten-free by swapping spätzle from The Vermont Spätzle Company.
The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. For online pre-ordering and curbside pickup, visit localline.ca/saratoga-farmers-market.
Love is All Around
Hello my Foodie Friends!
January reminds us that we are in the midst of winter and colder temperatures, we find ourselves reaching for the dinner staples that keep us warm an full. This time of year we love to make the most comforting recipes. After a day filled with snow adventures, my mother would often reach for one of her winter staple items, Stuffed Peppers, to make for a family of seven. I can recall how delicious it would smell in the house when the herd of kids came busting through the door after a day of playing in the snow. When making this dish, my mother would always reach for her favorite saute’ pan. Using the right cookware to help you with your winter recipes is important. A good dish is made up of different ingredients: a good recipe and having good cookware. Owning a few well-chosen pieces will give you the flexibility to cook whatever you want and the performance you need to cook it better. They may look different, but they all share essential qualities you should look for. Good pans are worth their price because they manage heat better. Terms such as; “Good conductor” and “heavy gauge” are the key features of good cookware. Here’s how these characteristics affect cooking.
You get responsive heat. Good heat conductors, such as copper and aluminum, are responsive to temperature changes. They’ll do what the heat source tells them to do—heat up, cool down—almost instantly. You get fast heat flow. Heat flows more easily through a good heat conductor, assuring a quick equalizing of temperature on the cooking surface. You get even heat diffusion. A thicker pan has more distance between the cooking surface and the heat source. By the time the heat flows to the cooking surface, it will have spread out evenly, because heat diffuses as it flows. Depending on what you’ll be cooking in the pan, you may also need to look for other attributes.
My mother always reached for her sauté pan sautéing and other cooking that called for quick temperature changes. She would use it to sauté garlic just until fragrant and then turn down the flame, so that the pan would cool down quickly so the garlic did not burn.
Love is all around especially when we make the family tradition recipes that bring back memories of a time past. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, Your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store. We have an assortment of cookware to assist you with your cold weather recipes. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”
Take Care,
John & Paula
How to Start Exercising Safely
For most people, a new year symbolizes a fresh start and an opportunity to implement some resolutions for new habits.
One of the most popular New Year’s Resolution every year is to get in better shape.
If you are one of the many people embarking on a new fitness routine, here are some tips to ensure your do so in a safe manor.
1. Pace yourself:
• Especially if you are just starting out, it is important to set realistic, attainable goals.Start small and gradually increase the intensity of each workout. Consult with your doctor to determine if a new exercise program is appropriate for your current fitness levels and if any modifications or precautions need to be taken.
2. Hydrate:
• The key is to be properly hydrated before you even begin your workout, and then continue to replenish your fluid levels during and after your workout.
3. Don’t forget to warm up/cool down:
• This is a very important, yet often neglected part of every workout. Stretching and gently going through the basic motions of your planned activity can help loosen up joints, warm up the muscles, and prevent potential injuries.
4. Mix it up:
• Your fitness goals may be more specific like “get a six-pack.” But that doesn’t mean you should do only ab exercises. Over-strengthening one muscle group and neglecting the rest can lead to major imbalances which can lead to injuries. And mixing up your routine will help prevent boredom and make it easier to stick to your new habits.
5. Do it right:
• Set yourself up for success by having the right gear and making sure it fits/works properly.
• It is also important to make sure you are using the proper form while exercising. If you’re not sure what that is, or if you’re doing it properly, seek help. Most gyms have trainers on hand that can help get you on the right track.
6. Listen to your body:
• Don’t push through the pain. Rarely does a “no pain, no gain” mindset actually end up working in anybody’s favor. Know your limits and honor them. If something doesn’t feel right go get it checked out by your doctor.
Dr. Kevy Smith Minogue is a chiropractor in Saratoga Springs providing non-surgical treatment of spinal disorders and sports-related injuries. For more information, please visit MySaratogaChiropractor.com or call 518-587-2064.
Coping Strategies for the Longest Winter Month
Despite the fact that I am thrilled (ecstatic! overjoyed! jubilant!) that 2020 is over, my joy is tempered by the fact that it’s January.
January has always been a rough month for me. December has Christmas and February is short and holds the promise of spring, but January is just dark and cold and long. It wasn’t so bad when I was younger — in school, or afterward, when I was working outside the house — but being home with small children amplifies all the worst parts of January: the lack of daylight (so many hours between sunset and bedtime), the requirement for layers of dry winter clothes (how do you all dry the wet snow clothes? Ours are in piles near the heaters, taking up space in the dryer, and presenting tripping hazards in the entryway, and they never fully dry out anyway), and the cabin fever (the yard is covered in slush or ice and/or it’s bitterly cold outside, so we mostly just stay in the house). It’s a struggle, every year.
This year, we’re facing a January in which they predict “the worst is yet to come,” virus-wise, and as of this writing, the numbers are proving them right. The things I usually do to help alleviate the darkness, like visiting with family and friends and going out for a date night or two out of the house, are being strongly cautioned against. The school basketball games that I always look forward to are currently paused. My kids, who have been so great over the last year about adjusting to the realities of the pandemic, are starting to have a harder time. I’ve really been trying to come up with ways to keep us as mentally healthy as possible for the next four weeks (I’m so hoping February will be better), and thought my ideas might be helpful to you as well.
Having things to look forward to has always been a good strategy for me in hard times, and they don’t have to be big things—just things that are fun or different than the norm, or improve your quality of life. For example:
• Ordering in for dinner
We tried to do this once a week back in the spring, both as a way of looking forward to something and to support local restaurants. We’re going to get back into it this month — it’s fun for the whole family to look forward to nice food, and great for me and my husband to not have to worry about cooking dinner.
• Getting out of the house
My kids are in school, so they already have this; for me, putting the baby in the stroller or van and going for a walk or taking a drive can break the day up nicely. On really bad days, only a ride in the van and getting coffee at a drive-through will do (preferably with good songs on the radio that I can sing to as I drive).
• Planning to watch a particular movie or show
This one has lost some impact with the availability of anything you want to watch at any time through streaming services, but if you can have the self-control to hold off on watching a particular thing until Friday night, for example, it might provide a nice light at the end of the tunnel each week. This is great for adults, and my boys also love looking forward to Family Movie Night — the best is when we can find a fun and appropriate movie they haven’t yet seen, and have fun food to go with it (even just popcorn).
• Doing a cleaning- or home improvement project
Taking advantage of being home most of the time by knocking off some things on your to-do list can expend some of that cabin-fever energy (for you and the kids) and prevent the walls from feeling like they’re closing in.
• Focusing on good health
January’s the perfect month to start eating better and exercising more, both of which can be done at home. Having a “project” like figuring out a better eating plan and implementing it is the kind of thing that distracts me nicely. I was just encouraging my boys to focus on weight lifting and using the pull-up bar to prepare for when sports resume. It’s fun to look forward to reentering society in the spring (fingers crossed!) as a healthier version of yourself.
The next time you hear from me, it’ll be February — I’m so looking forward to it. Have a safe and speedy January!
Kate and her husband have seven sons ages 16, 14, 12, 10, 9, 6, and 2. Follow her at www.facebook.com/kmtowne23, or email her at kmtowne23@gmail.com.
Ten Minutes to Successful New Years’ Resolutions
As we head into a New Year after facing a year full of uncertainty, stress and unprecedented times in every way, we may feel the pressure to commit to making big changes in our health emotionally, physically and spiritually.
While it is always important to establish a blueprint of goals and specific steps in reaching your goals, it’s equally important to set your goals in a way that guarantees you success and forward momentum.
I am guilty of the all or nothing method in goal setting, especially following almost a year of being out of the normal every-day routine due to pandemic living.
What I have found, through trial and error, to be the most effective and rewarding way to meet long-term goals on the daily basis is what I call the ten-minute method.
For example, often times on my list for the day is to exercise, meditate, organize home and office space and keep up with cleaning. In the all or nothing method we usually set up unrealistic expectations for ourselves causing burnout and failure.
We may commit to an hour-long workout, doing all the laundry at once, spending a day cleaning the house, and adding on some spiritual care at the very end of the day which tends to get forgotten and put off.
The ten-minute method works because it’s short and sweet. I always remind myself: ten minutes is better than 0 minutes. So, what that looks like day-to-day is ten minutes in the morning of organizing my space, (pick up, put laundry in, wipe down a surface, take out the trash).
I then may decide to do a ten-minute bike ride, walk around the neighborhood or a quick yoga session. Those ten minutes of movement refresh and refocus my energy.
I then may use any time in the car when I am alone to do some meditation. Obviously, I don’t close my eyes, but I use the time and space to just enjoy the silence or do some affirmations and prayer to ground myself for the day.
I have learned that blocking off large chunks of time to get things done, including self-care, ends up getting put off or by the time I show up for the time slot I am drained and exhausted and self-care looks like detachment and exhaustion.
We need to learn how to work smarter, not harder. This means plugging in for each day taking small windows of time to make us feel like we run our day in a proactive, thoughtful way versus reactive, anxious and stressed out.
2020 taught us all so many lessons; perhaps as we begin 2021, we can commit to showing up for each day in the way we need to feel healthy and strong in every area of our lives. That starts with identifying what you need each and every day to feel balanced and energized. That list is different for everyone. You may need some quiet, alone time daily while your family members may need time to connect with loved ones or friends daily. There is no right or wrong when it comes to identifying what you need daily.
Take some time to think about what really matters to you day-to-day and use ten- minute blocks to frame your day in a way that works for you.
YOU ARE WORTH IT!
Meghan Fritz is a psychotherapist practicing at Fritz, Stanger & Associates. For more information visit www.fritzstanger.com
Community Action When We Need It Most
Photos provided.
“Thank God this community answered the call.”
Jo Anne Hume was speaking recently about the community’s support of the services the Saratoga Economic Opportunity Council (EOC) has offered since last Spring when COVID changed everything.
She could’ve been talking about any time during the past 55 years, however.
Community support has always been the life engine of the Saratoga EOC, a non-profit organization that was founded as a result of the Economic Opportunity Act, passed in 1964, to help overcome the challenges of poverty by providing early childhood education, food, energy, family, and immigrant assistance services.
BRIGHT, NEW & COMMITTED TO YOU
Two and a half years ago, the Saratoga EOC, along with their Board of Directors, began reexamining their organization.
“We were looking at not what we do, or how we do it, but why we do it,” said Hume.
After gathering input from their customers, donors, volunteers, and staff, the Saratoga EOC is proud to reintroduce themselves as LifeWorks Community Action.
“Unlike many other organizations that came out of that Act, we never chose to change our name until now,” she said.
“Our new logo has this beautiful, radiating arch that speaks with hope about what we do. It’s communicating that we’re bright, vibrant, new, and committed to you.”
HELP STARTS HERE
LifeWorks vision for a brighter tomorrow is reinforced with the tagline, “Help Starts Here.”
It’s also easier than ever to get the help you need – both within the LifeWorks network of services and beyond it – with their new universal intake portal.
Fill out just one application in their centralized system for early education programs including Head Start/Early Head Start, WIC, Weatherization, The Pantry in Ballston Spa, The Kitchen in Saratoga Springs, and more.
“We’re also helping you achieve your goals with mobility mentorships. You decide what’s important to you and your family, and we’ll walk beside you as you achieve those goals,” said Hume.
MAKING LIFE WORK
Enrollment is down in LifeWorks Head Start and Early Head Start programs, but registration continues to be ongoing.
With their classrooms at half capacity, they’ve also been offering remote learning to families, but it’s proven difficult. They haven’t been able to increase the number of teachers they have, and providing computers and tablets only goes so far when those families also need internet accessibility. In addition, many of their students have special needs, which are tough to address remotely.
Families, more than ever, need the food these programs offered and as the pandemic continues, LifeWorks is seeing this heightened need being met by a caring community.
“We wouldn’t have been able to stay open and do what we did at the height of the surge without a very devoted staff and a very devoted volunteer core asking, ‘What can I do to help?’ and then coming back day after day after day,” said Hume.
Partnerships with corporations including GlobalFoundries, SEFCU and MVP Health Care – as well as financial support from people donating whatever they could, who volunteer to pack and deliver food, and do any of the numerous other things that keep LifeWorks going – are at the core of what really makes this organization work.
“The outpouring of support from this community is staggering.”
To learn more, visit lifeworksaction.org, or call 518-288-3206.
2021 Economic Outlook
There is an old curse that reads, “May you live in interesting times.”
I think we can all agree that we are certainly in interesting times. From the pandemic and the economy, to the political climate, 2020 (and so far, 2021) will long be remembered as a consequential year. The question now: where do we go from here?
2020 was a tale of two economies. Small businesses experienced a very different reality last year than large businesses. We all know local business owners who are struggling, or who have gone out of business, altogether. We know service sector workers whose financial lives are in complete collapse. Yet, on the other side, many large national businesses are booming. It’s a travesty, and our hearts go out to those suffering.
Things will get better.
For investors who stayed invested during 2020, it turned out to be a surprisingly positive year, especially in the technology sector.
This pandemic would have been untenable without recent technological innovations. Not only has technology allowed us to stay connected to loved ones during shutdowns, it has also allowed more people to work productively from home than ever before. As a result, non-tech companies, their employees and customers, have been direct beneficiaries since these companies have not had to shut down, could retain their employees, and consumers could still gain access to products and services which are essential to modern life. Imagine how much worse things would be if this had struck in the ‘90s!
What do we see for 2021?
For all of the relative insanity we’ve experienced so far this year, there are some reasons to be optimistic about the next twelve months.
Technological innovations will continue to revolutionize the way we function in our everyday lives, and will do so at an ever-increasing pace. This is because we have all now been conditioned to accept new technologies when we otherwise might have been hesitant. We expect technology, as a sector, to continue to do well.
Fun fact: The Moderna vaccine had already been designed by January 13, 2020, just two days after the Covid gene sequence had been made public! It will end up saving millions of lives – possibly yours – and we have technology to thank for it.
As more become vaccinated, and shutdowns end, we expect the greater economy to begin to normalize. It may take well into the second quarter, but it is an eventuality. This, of course, bodes well for the private sector, but will also help the public sector as states and municipalities regain their financial footing.
Some are worried about what a single-party-controlled Federal government means, so let’s address that.
Markets typically like gridlock, because it is easier for businesses to plan if they know the rules are not going to change. Normally a sweep by either party would be cause for concern, but this year, markets are reacting positively. This is largely because there is only a technical majority in the Senate, with the Vice President acting as the tie-breaker. This will force compromise, which is ultimately beneficial.
One thing that will almost certainly pass in the next few weeks is additional stimulus and relief for the American public, which markets are applauding as well. Expect another round of direct payments (checks), as well as a delay in initiatives to raise taxes on anyone, rich or poor. In fact, we expect a repeal of the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, which would actually, disproportionately, benefit the wealthy.
It is also very conceivable that Congress extends provisions of the CARES act in 2021, including an elimination of early withdrawal penalties for hardship withdrawals, and another break on required minimum distributions. To that end, if you do not need your required minimum distributions in order to maintain your cash flow, you may want to wait to take them in case Congress eliminates them for 2021, as it did in 2020.
Here’s an interesting idea for any high school seniors graduating this year. Freshman applications and admissions are down more than 20% at some schools, leaving schools in a position to have to compete aggressively for students to fill their rolls. Couple that with the fact that most students don’t have SAT/ACT scores to report, and you may find that the dream school you thought was scholastically unattainable is suddenly an option!
In summary, as the pandemic comes under control and our lives are allowed to regain some semblance of normalcy, we expect the economy to continue to improve. With that, we expect the broader US stock indices to grow by 10-15% in 2021. We also believe that technology will again continue to be a driver of growth.
As always our forecast contains forward-looking statements which may be revised at any time. Stay focused on fundamentals in the coming year, and work closely with your financial advisor to help ensure your investments remain appropriate for your needs and market conditions.
Stephen Kyne, CFP is a Partner at Sterling Manor Financial, LLC in Saratoga Springs, and Rhinebeck. Securities offered through Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Sterling Manor Financial, LLC, or Cadaret Grant & Co., Inc., SEC registered investment advisors. Sterling Manor Financial and Cadaret Grant are separate entities.
Making a Splash
Saratoga Springs Varsity Boys Swim Team. Photos by Melissa Cartier.
Team Photo: Saratoga Springs High School Varsity Boys swim team seniors at their first meet of the season
The Saratoga Springs High School Varsity Boys Swim Team is still finding their sea legs after being thrown into a season unlike any other.
The Saratoga Springs High School Varsity Boys Swim Team’s versatility is their best asset for navigating the murky waters created by the COVID pandemic.
“We’re playing it by ear and doing a week-by-week evaluation of where we’re at,” said Coach Bill Asay.
“It’s a work-in-progress,” he continued. “In a lot of ways, I’m experimenting, and if it’s not working, I adjust.”
NEW POOL, NIGHT OWL PRACTICES & ADJUSTING TO CHANGE
Adjusting to a season with a start date that was delayed until December 14, (a month and a half later than usual), the team is also swimming in a new location this year – at the Saratoga Regional YMCA on West Avenue.
“Everybody is trying to make-up for time lost. No one’s been in the water as much this year, so we’re trying to get as much time in now as we can, get everyone in shape, and go from there,” said Asay.
Fitting in practice time at the gym means training after hours. The team has only 18 swimmers (instead of their usual 22-24 because they cannot have divers compete) and is practicing for two hours, four days a week, from 8 to 10 p.m.
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“It’s not easy, that’s for sure, but it’s a pool, the Y has been very generous, and it’s working out pretty well. I’m thankful for the season as a whole,” he said.
Coach Asay is adjusting practices by balancing high intensity swims with long recovery laps. He’s also using their meets as additional training time for the exhibition swimmers.
FORCES TO BE RECKONED WITH
In the quest to find their way, the Blue Streaks aren’t afraid to mix things up.
Competing in meets virtually, for now (a decision which may be reevaluated by the Suburban Council in time for next month’s championships) means that they have no way of knowing what they’ll be needing to swim to beat their opponents’ scores.
Instead of letting it get them down, Asay is using his 20 years of coaching experience with the team to lead them on a different path – he’s changing things up and using their versatility to their advantage – a strategy that could give them an edge over the competition.
Seniors Jason Zheng and Luke Beringer are strong competitors in any event the coach decides to have them swim on meet day.
Meanwhile, sophomores Conner and Calvin Baird are a dynamic duo – twin brothers whose different styles complement one another.
While Calvin likes the distance swims, Conner is more of a sprinter. Together, they are creating a real underclassman force to be reckoned with on the Blue Streaks’ team.
So far, they’re 1 in 1 – Saratoga won their first meet against Schenectady High School but lost to Bethlehem. This week they compete against Shaker and next week will be swimming against both Burnt Hills and Niskayuna.
“I have a really dedicated group of boys who are working hard and enjoying the sport. I’m sure they miss some things this year, but I think their spirits are up pretty good,” said Asay.
The Life and Legacies of Spencer Trask
Spencer Trask awoke on the morning of December 31, 1909 in the last compartment of the last sleeper car on the Montreal Express as it neared New York City on the D&H Railroad line. Getting dressed, his thoughts may have turned to the three passions that dominated his life of 65 years. He did not know then that it would the final day of his eventful life.
Trask was born in 1844 in Brooklyn, the son of Alanson Trask and Sarah Marquand Trask. His early years were immersed in his first passion, to become a successful businessman like his father. Alanson Trask was a New Englander of Puritan stock, descended from a family that arrived in Massachusetts in 1628. Two centuries later, Alanson became the first of the family to move away, settling in New York City. The Trasks were a prominent family of some means, but Alanson took their fortunes to a new level. Investing in a shoe manufacturing business during the Civil War, he became an overnight multi-millionaire by today’s standards, selling shoes and other goods to the Union Army.
Son Spencer entered Princeton in 1862, and upon graduating 4 years later entered the investment banking field. Focusing first on providing venture capital funds to the idea men of the post-Civil War era, he had an uncanny ability to pick winners, most famously backing unknown inventers, such as Thomas Edison. Later he and his firm, Spencer Trask & Co., took on the challenge of rescuing struggling businesses. About to go under, he was among the financiers that saved the New York Times from bankruptcy, becoming President of the newspaper from 1897 to 1906.
By that time, his fortune made, he could indulge his other passions. In 1874 he had married Kate Nichols, daughter of another elite New York family, whose own passions centered around the cultural and literary world. That partnership was to bear fruit in later years. The Yaddo Corporation, first conceived by the Trasks in 1900, opens its doors to members of the artistic community after his death. Authors, painters, sculptors and musicians availed themselves of that restful retreat located in the woodlands near the Saratoga racecourse.
For Spencer and Kate Trask, the decade of the 1880’s was filled with both joy and sorrow. In 1880 their first child, Alanson, named after his grandfather, died at the age of five at their Brooklyn home. Distraught, they made a life changing decision to seek a peaceful place in the country to help them deal with their loss. They were already familiar with the resort town of Saratoga Springs, having visited there during the summer social season. Spencer’s father had retired there and taken up residence in an estate he named ”Ooweekin,” Home of Rest, in the native Iroquois language. In 1881 they leased the former Barhydt estate for the summer. Kate was so enchanted they purchased the 155-acre property for $16,500 the next year. Father and son now owned adjacent retirement estates. Ooweekin was on Nelson Avenue, (later the estate and horse training facility owned by John Hay Whitney), and the soon-to-be named Yaddo on Union Avenue, connected by a road now enveloped by private property south of the NYRA backstretch.
Tragedy struck again in 1888 when daughter Christina and son Spencer, Jr. died of diphtheria they had contracted from their mother Kate, who survived. One year later their fourth child, Katrina died three days after birth. Saddened, but still resilient, they plunged themselves into expanding their estate. When their renovated Queen Anne style home was destroyed by fire in 1891, they immediately set to work to construct the large Gothic style mansion, still the centerpiece of Yaddo today.
During this time, Spencer indulged his third passion – using his resources and influence to address what he saw as the dark side of the Gilded Age. In a town whose life blood was gambling, he railed against it, spending $50,000 and creating his own newspaper, the Saratoga Union to promote his views. When several companies were formed in the 1890’s to extract carbonic gas from the springs – thereby threatening the springs and their park-like surroundings – he swung into action. Trask worked with Governor Hughes to secure passage of the Anti-Pumping Act of 1908, followed by the establishment of the State Reservation in 1909, which was given the authority to purchase the land that was to become the Saratoga Spa State Park.
Trask was appointed to head the three-member commission and it was on Reservation business that he traveled to New York on the last day of 1909. While dressing in his compartment, the train was halted by a signal. A freight train following behind failed to stop and plowed into the passenger train, crushing the last car, and ending the life of this man of many virtues. His legacy lives on in his adopted hometown. Katrina commissioned family friend Daniel Chester French to sculpt the Spirit of Life in Congress Park in his honor, and Yaddo continues to welcome artists to its peaceful grounds.
Jim Richmond is a local independent historian, and the author of two books, “War on the Middleline” and “Milton, New York, A New Town in a New Nation” with co-author Kim McCartney. He is currently researching the early history of today’s Saratoga Spa State Park. Jim is also a founding member of the Saratoga County History Roundtable and can be reached at SaratogaCoHistoryRoundtable@gmail.com