Brunch in New York
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Labels: brunch, NY, oma, photograph
written by Eric Mills at 00:40 
Oh, My Goat!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Skiing at Toggenburg as a kid prepared me for many things: rain, dirt, rocks, ice, and ice. Luckily, I've since moved on.Back in New York, at Toggenburg Ski Center, there is/was a trail called "oh my goat" (because Toggenburg is a type of goat) and it was/is the hardest trail on the 'mountain', not because of technicalities or terrain, but hard because of ice. It was steep and icy. That's it.
While I am still prepared for ice, I am still not prepared for the real thing... in this case, a goat! But here it is.
written by Eric Mills at 23:48
Wing of a Chicken Flock Together
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Living in Buffalo, NY for a few years during grad school, I became well aware of the local food scene (or lack thereof): beef on weck, fried just about everything, and an immense amount of alcohol until 4am. Upon reflection it seems a little interesting that I moved from one of the most obese cities in the nation, to one of the only non-obese states in the entire country.
Matt Reynolds' trip across New York State, in search of the best chicken wing (which were invented down the street from our apartment in Buffalo) should bring back some memories. He'll be eating nothing but chicken wings for two weeks, and this should prove to what bar the best wings flock.
Labels: Buffalo, foodie, NY, wings
written by Eric Mills at 20:08
Found: Winter Clove Hiking Trails Map
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Near Roundtop, Catskill: The Whitcomb family is always happy to pack a trail lunch for you.
written by Eric Mills at 21:30
Society for News Design in Syracuse
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Snowed just a little in Syracuse.
written by Eric Mills at 21:21
New Catskill Game Farm
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Fallsburg farm to be the next Catskill Game Farm? Why now? Why here? Why will it work?
Labels: Catskills, follow-up, NY
written by Eric Mills at 14:14
Swimming Hole No More
Thursday, January 4, 2007
244 Temple Street was a famous house in my little college town: vineyard in the back yard, path leading to a creek for swimming, long double driveway for student parking. No more. Now, as you can see, there is a "back to the future"-like development going up. No more quiet, no more dirt paths to swim, and no more loud music played until all hours. Now, there are neat little houses all lined up.
Don't get me wrong, people need a place to live. I'm just always let down at the amount of brilliant swimming holes lost to neighborhoods.
Up there in the photo, the barn/garage you see used to be the only thing you would see. The house is to the right, and the new development road cuts right through our old BBQ, dirt path area down to the vineyard/creek.
Labels: college, NY, photograph
written by Eric Mills at 21:28
Follow-up: Catskill Game Farm
Monday, December 4, 2006
Forever closed, yet still listed in the 2006 New York State Travel Guide, the Catskill Game Farm can be visited virtually through a photo tour.Will the street address of the game farm, and presumably something else, still remain, "Game Farm Rd"? Or will it, like many streets in upstate New York, fall prey to the obligatory tag old and call it a day?
400 Old Game Farm Road.The old usually means that a new thorough-fare was built in its stead. Here, though, we might just have a road of remembrance. I vote for Old Game Farm Rd.
Labels: Catskills, follow-up, NY
written by Eric Mills at 00:43
Prost!
Monday, November 27, 2006
Not exactly a scrap: this image is a cropped and colored section of Oma Muller and Aunt Erna 'prosting' on the back porch of the 8778 house. Thought I'd point that out over here so you can take a look. I can't link to it, because it is one of our sites, and those who are in charge of these sorts of things will see it as gratuitous.Although, if you happen to be reading our page on wine, the link to which you can find on our links page, you'll notice this image. You'll also notice that these two lovely ladies are holding their wine glasses by the stem. Opa Muller always used to make a big point on that when toasting; the clinking just sounded so much better that way (not to mention the heat from your hand didn't warm up your wine). Cheers!
Labels: 8778, Erna Emmighausen, NY, oma, opa, photograph, Rosa Muller
written by Eric Mills at 17:34
Found: Note on Envelope from 1972
Friday, November 17, 2006
Having tarred the roof myself (noted on the back of this envelope) one hot summer day around 1999, it feels strangely good to know that it leaked back in '72. And the Bank of New York? Coinciding nicely with the yellowed envelope, The Bank of New York is the oldest bank in the United States -- on Wall Street since 1787, after an advertisement placed in 1784.
Labels: 1972, Catskills, family history, found, NY, South Cairo
written by Eric Mills at 00:00
Let it snow, let it snow... in Buffalo
Saturday, October 21, 2006
The storm in Buffalo made it onto NPR's "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me" where the contestant answered incorrectly. The question? Why are residents of Buffalo still without power? The answer? Not a hurricane, like the caller guessed. No, not a hurricane at all... close, though, with one million cubic feet of debris.
written by Eric Mills at 01:36
The End of an Era for the Catskill Game Farm
Friday, October 20, 2006
Early last century, my great grandfather, Max Kluegel, owned a pub in New York City. At that time, the Catskills were a great place to visit when one wanted to get out of the hustle and bustle.In 1933, when the Catskill Game Farm was started, my great grandfather and another fellow named Jas Barthe loaned Roland Lindemann some money to begin. Now, more than 70 years later, it is closing its barn doors and auctioning off the animals.
My brother and I would visit the game farm as kids, and although I have clearer memories of driving the go-karts at a nearby track than I do of llamas, I remember the coin machines that would spit out pellets of food, and I recall being confused that the machines didn't give us kids a treat, that the treats were for the animals and that was the fun. Click on the photo to read the enlarged newspaper scan of the Syracuse Post Standard, and the second scanned page here. I've uploaded their PDF map of the area, and here are two snapshots of their web page in case that soon disappears. You can read more about the closing of the Game Farm here and Albany's take on it here and don't forget the NYTimes, the Post Standard, and -- believe it or not -- the Upstate NY Blog.
Labels: Catskills, family history, NY
written by Eric Mills at 16:15
I want a refund!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Many of you know that I spent a lot of time and money to earn a degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology (not to mention enduring the nasty, upstate NY weather). Well, I have decided that I want my money back.I did not spend that much money to earn a piece of paper with no real value and have it look like this. Who ever heard of a left justified degree? And what a horrible font! It looks like it was designed by some art school co-op who later failed to graduate.
Do you think I have a chance of a refund?
