Weekly Construction Report
NEW RESIDENTS CARE CENTER
HALLWAY
ENTRANCE
BATHROOM
NEW TERRACE ROOM
From the Office of Ellen Ottstadt
Join in the Annual Appeal
I Never Knew That
Jackie Robinson Was Honorably Discharged from the Army after Refusing to Move to the Back of a Segregated Bus
Five years before he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson was drafted into the military. He received his notice on April 3, 1942, just a few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor propelled the United States into World War II. He joined an all-Black unit stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, and was later transferred to Fort Hood, Texas. There, racial segregation was strictly enforced despite Executive Order 8802, which was issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to ban discriminatory practices in federal agencies and organizations contributing to the war effort.
This ban was put to the test on July 6, 1944, when Robinson refused to move to the back of a bus in Fort Hood. He faced six charges at a subsequent court-martial, which he believed was racially motivated. In his autobiography, Robinson wrote that his lawyer “summed up the case beautifully by telling the board that this was not a case involving any violation of the Articles of War, or even of military tradition, but simply a situation in which a few individuals sought to vent their bigotry on a Negro they considered ‘uppity’ because he had the audacity to exercise rights that belonged to him as an American and a soldier.”
The nine combat officers who comprised the court acquitted Robinson of all charges. The ballplayer received an honorable discharge four months later.
Source: Michael Nordine, historyfacts.com
Contributed by Jane Hart
For Your Funny Bone
Art by Hart
With the latest in costume change technology, Hough could play both Phantom and Les Miz without missing a beat
PJ’s quartet decided it was time to go their separate ways
Cubby turned his old black and white tv into a horse laundry
Raven’s last exhibit kept even the docent guessing
Huffy turned his every moment into a stress test
Art and photos by Jane Hart
Hope IV, by Sheila Benedis
Art and photo by Sheila Benedis
In and Around Kendal
February Birthdays
Photo by Harry Bloomfeld
The Younger Set
Recently, a second-grader school choir came from the Tarrytown Schools to lift hearts and minds in Adirondack and Clearwater.
As the Sun Rises and Morning Comes to Kendal
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
As the Sun Sets and Evening Comes to Kendal
Photo by Harry Bloomfeld
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
Out and About
Art at Vassar
Kendalites recently risked chilblains to enjoy the art of Vassar College’s Loeb Art Museum. Bonus: a hearty lunch nearby, with lots of conversation—no doubt—about art.
Photo by Peter Roggemann
Photo by Jessica Baron
More Art at MOMA
The Lannerts spent a day in Manhattan at MOMA, where the art includes the building itself.
Photo by Ed Lannert
Meanwhile . . .
Eschewing art—and unbothered by the cold—geese in Hastings decided to take a stroll on the boardwalk.
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
Weekly Construction Report
From the Office of Ellen Ottstadt
It's So Appealing
What’s So Appealing? Everything we do here at Kendal
Courses
Music
Resident Website
Library Services
Sip & Snack
Opera
Hams on Hudson
Movies
Art Shows
Lectures
Entertainments
AND SO MUCH MORE!
We’re a self-run Residents Association—and our 30 activities committees run it all
We run ‘em all—and we pay for ‘em all.
What’s the Ask?
$250 per person (or $500 per couple).
Of course, if you want to increase your generosity and go beyond those amounts, all the merrier.
Do the math: $250 per person. That’s about $20.83 a month. For all the programs, films, music—both from outside and made by our friends and neighbors, sipping and snacking, Hamming it up on Hudson, just to name a few things. Everyone chips in; everyone enjoys. The choices are myriad and marvelous.
Is This Tax Deductible?
Yep! Every last penny.
(Kinda wants you to give more, huh?)
How do I do it? Easy, Peasy!
1. A Collection Box has been set up in the front lobby at the desk (see above)
2. You write a check for the amounts specified above—or as much more as you like! Make it to “KoH Residents Association.” In the memo line, write “Annual Appeal”
Wait! I Turned My Financial Affairs Over to . . . (Fill in the Blank: a Bank, Trustee, Family Member)
Not a problem. Just ask the designated entity or person to send a check to “KoH Residents Association, 1010 Kendal Way, 10591.”
Again: the check should be made out to “KoH Residents Association.” In the memo line, write “Annual Appeal.”
What’s the Timing on This?
The month of February. We’d love it, of course, if you operate on “the sooner the better” timing. But it is for the month.
And a Big THANK YOU in Advance!
From the Residents Council—and the chairs and members of all 30 committees!
New York City Show for Cynthia Carlson's Art
The Anxious Watchers, by Cynthia Carlson
Duane Thomas Gallery is pleased to present The Shape of Things, an exhibition of new works by Cynthia Carlson, opening on February 12, 2026, with a reception from 6 to 8 PM. The exhibition brings together works created over the last two years, reflecting the artist’s sustained engagement with animated abstraction, movement, and the generative possibilities of drawing.
Cynthia Carlson is a pioneering figure in feminist art history and an early participant in the Pattern and Decoration movement. Emerging in the late 1960s and 1970s, her work challenged the hierarchies of modernism by embracing ornament, repetition, and visual pleasure at a moment when such elements were critically marginalized. Carlson’s practice has long foregrounded pattern as a primary structural and conceptual force, positioning abstraction as a site of resistance, play, and agency. Her influence continues to resonate in contemporary conversations around feminist abstraction and material-driven practices.
The Shape of Things will be on view at Duane Thomas Gallery
February 12 through March 14, 2026.
Kendal Champion Spellers Up to the Irvington Spelling Challenge
They’s Ba-a-a-a-ck
and Ready to Spell!
Carol and Philip Monteleoni, and Mike Kornfield rise again for the honor of Spelling Team Extraordinaire!
And you can be there to cheer them on!
Come cheer for the Kendal team and enjoy the atmosphere and the words—yes, you’ll have paper and pencil to try your hand.
Need or ride—or can drive others? Give Pam Mitchell a call (x1959)!
I Never Knew That
Maya Angelou Was One of San Francisco’s First Black Female Streetcar Conductors
As a teenager during World War II, Maya Angelou took a job that might seem unexpected for the future renowned author: working as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco. She was just 15 years old when she climbed onto the back platform of an electric streetcar in 1943, wearing a tailored blue uniform and a change belt, collecting fares and urging riders to move forward. Angelou later described herself as San Francisco’s first Black streetcar conductor, including in her 1969 autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. While the claim is often repeated, later research suggests the full picture is more complex. At least one Black man had been hired by the city’s transit system earlier, in 1941. And because employment records from the era were discarded long ago, it’s difficult to prove definitively that Angelou was the first Black female streetcar conductor. But she was certainly among the very first.
Getting the job took determination. After seeing an ad for female conductors placed by the Market Street Railway Company during the labor shortages of World War II, Angelou went to apply—and was repeatedly refused an application. Encouraged by her mother, Vivian Baxter, she returned day after day for about two weeks, arriving before the office staff and waiting them out. When she was finally allowed to apply, Angelou lied about her age, writing down 19. She also invented prior work experience, saying that she had been “companion and driver for Mrs. Annie Henderson (a White Lady) in Stamps, Arkansas.”
Angelou worked the job for roughly five months before returning to high school. To keep her daughter safe on predawn routes, Baxter reportedly followed the streetcar in her own car, a pistol on the seat beside her. Angelou later said the experience taught her something lasting: With persistence and courage, she could go anywhere.
Source: historyfacts.com
Humor
Contributed by Barbara Bruno
Hope III, by Sheila Benedis
Art and photo by Sheila Benedis
Art by Hart
Hamp dreamed he won gold in the Olympic sleepwalking event
As a kid, Rubik couldn’t figure out how to take his snowsuit off
Craig thought the hat made Walda look dangerous
It wasn’t hard for Denbigh to have a bird in the hand AND two in the bush
The sun felt like his workdays kept getting longer
Art and photos by Jane Hart
In and Around Kendal
Valentine’s Day Came Early in Rockwood Park
Photo by Harry Bloomfeld
The Beauty of an Icy Sunset on a Snowy Day—in Black and White
Photo by Ed Lannert
Ice Greens
Photo by Edward Kasinec
An Iced Tea Party, Perhaps . . .
Photo by Philip Monteleoni
Kendal’s Snowy Gazebo
Photo by Edward Kasinec
A Walk in the Park
Photos by Carolyn Reiss
Out and About
Windows of Grace, Beauty, and History
Stalwart Kendelites braved the cold to view the beauty: specifically the windows of the Briarcliff Congregational church, created by such luminaries as Louis Tiffany.
Photo by Marianne Bloomfeld
They Got What Where?!
While Barbara and Joe Bruno were enjoying the warmth of the Honolulu sun, they were surprised not only to find Sing-Sing there, but that they were serving Thai food! Who knew?
Just Havin’ a Great Time
Sunday, February 8, the Daughters of the British Empire held their annual Valentines Brunch, this year organized by the DBE King Edward VII Chapter at Connolly’s Pub in Manhattan. Amanda Slattery holds the lofty position of Regent at said Chapter. And Pat McGrath was an attendee this year. From the look of it, he had a really good time . . .
Photo by Amanda Slattery
