Art by Hart

Without a gun, Harkin kept the bad guys away with Silly String

Young Crake never failed to astonish his grandparents

Liz was everyone’s favorite gerbil nanny

Woofy’s antennae told him where he could find a real treat

Ruffin wondered what last year’s runner-up Kale Queen could ever see in him

Art and photos by Jane Hart

A Work in Progress: Independent-Living Healthcare Strategy at Kendal

Highlights from the March 27 and April 7 Meetings

An ad hoc committee to address the healthcare for Independent Living Residents (IL) was convened by Jean Eccleston to address the evolving healthcare environment and how to best support access to care for IL residents at KOH. Jean has assembled a team of residents with a range of backgrounds, along with relevant staff members and Board representation. The members are listed at the end of this report, and all are willing to hear from you about your concerns and suggestions.  

One thing that quickly became apparent to us was that there is a wide range of understandings and expectations about healthcare provision for IL residents. The committee identified transparency, communication and education as important guidelines for our operation. To that end, regular updates at the Resident Council Meetings and posts of meeting highlights on the Resident Website will be provided.  

Our initial work has been focused on educating ourselves about the current state of healthcare.  We have reviewed the chronology of IL Healthcare at KOH, reached out to other CCRC communities about their experiences, and reviewed our Lifecare Contract so we all have a clear understanding of the services Kendal provides to its residents along the continuum of care. We are not alone in our struggles.  Another local lifeplan community is not able to provide guaranteed staffing for PET activation by IL residents, and at times asks them to call 911.  We are living in a brave, new world.  

Seeking input from IL residents will be an essential part of our process, and we will be exploring how to best do that at our next meeting.  We hope you will be a part of the process and look forward to your input.  

Jean Eccleston  Jessica Baron Jo Cameron  Hildegarde Gray  Erin Hennessey  Mike Kornfield Jeff O’Donnell Ellen Ottstadt Hank Schacht Claire Tenny Art Vecchiotti Lisa Wacht Sharon Wexler 

I Never Knew That

 The Curious History of Love Potions

The idea of a love potion created to win the heart of an uninterested companion has been around for virtually as long as recorded history. While no one knows for sure when these elixirs first bubbled into existence, their development through the years, in many guises, serves as a snapshot for the cultures these creative concoctions have passed through.

The Ancient Greeks Set the Tone

According to Love Potions Through the Ages: A Study of Amatory Devices and Mores, by Harry E. Wedeck, the ancient Greeks were among the earliest civilizations to foster the regular use of love potions, also known as “philtres.” The physician Xenocrates, who lived in the third century BCE, suggested that drinking the sap of the mallow plant would arouse passions in women. The stimulating effects of the roots of the satyrion and mandrake plants were well known to both the Greeks and the Romans that followed. The Greek physician Dioscorides, who served as an army surgeon for the Roman Emperor Nero, wrote of how the mandrake root dipped in wine would help win over prospective lovers.

Even those who lacked wealth and power enjoyed access to love-inducing aides, as they could find various charms and concoctions in a seedy district of ancient Rome known as the Sabura. Yet the widespread availability of such philtres, with their varying degrees of effectiveness, could also be a source of trouble. The poet Lucretius, a contemporary of Julius Caesar’s, was said to have been driven mad by a potion administered by his wife. Later, the Roman writer Apuleius stood trial for his alleged concoction of love potions to win the heart of a widow, with recipes including such stimulating seafood as spiced oysters, cuttlefish, and lobsters.

Source: historyfacts.com

Contributed by Jane Hart

From the Attic

A Bit of History in Our Neighborhood

Cathie Campbell dug up the photo above from their days living in the neighboring Sleepy Hollow Manor. Look closely at the date of the manhole cover, set down way back in 1927. But if you look at most of the homes in The Manor, they don’t seem to correspond to those built in the 1920s and 1930s. What happened? Quick answer: 1929 happened, with its stock market crash, the drop in incomes, and the slump in new homes built. Then, of course, came World War II. Perhaps that’s why many of the homes are split-level in nature. The split-level house came into vogue in the 1950s, which was about when house building started up again. And The Manor shows it.

Do you have something from “way back when” that speaks of your history, that of the town, that of the country? Send a photo our way for “From the Attic.”

Out and About

A Sleepy Hollow Birthday

If there’s one person who defines Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, it is Washington Irving, author, diplomat, and wanderer of the rocks and rills of our towns. Also the Daddy of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, featuring the Headless Horseman.

And April 3 is his birthday—his 242nd, no less! Each year, the Historical Society of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow celebrates the day. This year was no different. Celebrants included the great man himself (in the person of Aaron Newcomer). And Kendal’s own Cynthia Ferguson, who managed to get a picture of the birthday boy’s cake as it was being cut (above). While it was being consumed, there was a talk about Irving himself and a reading of some of his favorite tales of our area. Sadly, the Headless Horseman was unable to attend.

I Never Knew That

The Human Skull Never Fully Stops Growing

By the time most of us reach age 20 or so, the bones in our body are pretty much done growing. The growth plates that cause us to put on inches in our youth are now hardened bone, and in fact, adults tend to drop an inch or two in height as worn-out cartilage causes our spines to shrink over time. However, there are a few bones that buck this biological trend. Skulls, for example, never fully stop growing, and the bones also shift as we age. A 2008 study from Duke University determined that as we grow older, the forehead moves forward, while cheek bones tend to move backward. As the skull tilts forward, overlying skin droops and sags.

The skull isn’t the only bone that has a positive correlation with age. Human hips also continue to widen as the decades pass, meaning those extra inches aren’t only due to a loss of youthful metabolism. In 2011, researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine discovered that hips continue to grow well into our 70s, and found that an average 79-year-old’s pelvic width was 1 inch wider than an average 20-year-old’s. So while it’s mostly true that humans stop growing after the age of 20, nature always likes to throw in a few exceptions to the rule.

Source: Interestingfacts.com

Contributed by Jane Hart

From the Attic

It started well before the unpacking, but became a mystery with the unpacking. For years, we’d relieve family members of obscure boxes as their downsizing eliminated storage space. Down to our basement or up to our attic or into our garage they went. “One day soon, we’ll go through these and clean them out.” One day, but not that particular day. And so when the Kendal phone call came, and we signed on all the dotted lines, those boxes came with us. Still taped up. Still unexplored.

During our just-arrived time when boxes were being—if not cheerfully, then arduously—opened, objects were laid out in a flurry on every flat surface available, awaiting their final resting places. In achieving (sort of) that second task of resting places, we came across an item whose use neither of us could fathom. Nor could we figure out whose family it came from. It simply appeared out of nowhere.

For the past 3 years, we’ve contemplated just tossing it. But what would we be tossing? Made of wood, with metal fittings at either pointy end, it was elongated and hollow in its middle. The other day, it turned up again and, upon very, very, very close inspection, we found a set of numbers and tossed those numbers, along with the accompanying word “Southern,” into the computer. To our immense surprise, about six other of its ilk immediately popped up.

Now, Marilyn Bottjer is going to know immediately what it is. But here are its pictures (top, bottom, sides) and what we have learned about it:

Top (unless it’s the bottom)

Side

Bottom (unless it’s the top)

“Southern 1417-1”

Our “treasure” (?) is a “vintage” wooden textile-mill weaving loom shuttle, used in making rugs, tapestries, and fabrics. It has lost its innards—probably a long time ago. We have only vague notions where it came from—but at least we now know what it is. Thank you, Internet.

Art by Hart

Everyone looked up to Ratner-Coyle

Lurelle’s ongoing power struggle with Woofie showed no sign of letting up

Fred found out he was allergic to Maddie’s new puppies

Everybody went to pieces when the Mr. Frostee truck was late

Aunt Lulu was on time to pick up Shad, but which one was he?

Art and photos by Jane Hart

In and Around Kendal

A Milestone for Joe Kratovil

This year, Joe Kratovil reached a milestone in birthday celebrations: his 100th! Here’s one on the actual day!

100 birthdays may have come and gone, but Joe is still out, about, and movin’ along. The Bloomfelds met him on the way to Rockwood Park, and Joe gave them a detailed guided tour, including tree identification, a lesson on stone walls, and an explanation of the mansion layout.

Photo by Harry Bloomfeld

Workin’ on the River

Photo by Joe Bruno

Runnin’ by the River

The Rivertown Runners were out in the Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon, and Caroline Reiss and Donna Nye just happened across the Rockwood Park part of it—and the piper who serenaded them.

Donna Nye knows great piping when she hears it.

Road Runners running!

Photos by Carolyn Reiss

It’s Early Spring in Kendal Land

Soon to Bud, by Edward Kasinec

Soft Forest Floor, by Carolyn Reiss

Something Old, Something New, by Greg Lozier

Magnolia Ready to Burst, by Carolyn Reiss

A Cluster of Pines, by Edward Kasinec

Yellow Blossoms—Ready, by Carolyn Reiss

A Swallow Sets Up Housekeeping in the Park, by Carolyn Reiss

Travelin’ by the River

City-bound, by Greg Lozier

Late Afternoon Sky

Photo by Greg Lozier

Out and About

Kendal’s Trip to the Blauvelt Art Museum

Last week, Kendalites journeyed to Oradell, NJ, to visit the Blauvelt Art Museum, which features wildlife art by contemporary artists.

Watching Spring A-Bursting

Amanda Slattery and Ruth Dinowitz rode over to the NY Botanical Gardens for the 2025 Orchid Show—and saw lots more than orchids!

Poppies and forget-me-nots in March! Gives one hope.

Ruth Dinowitz marvels at the NYBG Orchid Show.

© Kendal on Hudson Residents Association 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 all rights reserved.  Please do not reproduce without permission.

Photographs of life at Kendal on Hudson are by residents.