Mouth That Roars

Bill Liblick has made a name for himself of National TV Talk Shows where he spouted his outspoken views from the front row. Now he offers you his opinion every week in the "MOUTH THAT ROARS" Column in the Sullivan County Post.

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February 12th, 2015

Two Noteworthy Events

Two major events will take place this Saturday and next Saturday in Sullivan County, and I urge everyone to take note and participate.

HEART-A-THON

On Saturday February 14th (Valentine’s Day) the annual WSUL/WVOS Heart-A-Thon benefiting Catskill Regional Medical Center (CRMC) will take place, and on Saturday February 21st the Delaware Company’s Washington Birthday Celebration will be held.

It is estimated that cardiovascular disease will claim over 600 deaths within Sullivan County this year. Thanks to your generosity over $600,000 has been raised for CRMC over the past decade to fight this disease.

This year money is being raised for the purchase of Integrated CPR systems for both the Harris and Callicoon Emergency Rooms.

Sullivan County Coroner Alan Kesten notes that “we all know that Heart Disease is the #1 Cause of Death. There are several ways to stop this! Better diet, better health & exercise, less stress and of course great quality emergency response! We can all help by providing our Emergency Departments with the best equipment. This year we are funding state of the art equipment for both Catskill Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Departments.”

Pledges can be made by calling the Heart-A-Thon phone lines (845) 794-9898 or 794-1212 on Saturday or dropping off your Pledge at The Sullivan in Rock Hill from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Washington Birthday Celebration

Next Saturday February 21st the Delaware Company’s Washington Birthday Celebration at Henning’s Local in Eldred will be a fun and educational event. The event will feature beer tasting and lively colonial music and dance.

The Delaware Company is named for the group of Connecticut farmers who established the first permanent European settlement in the Upper Delaware around 1755. Their mission is to promote and support the history and the historic landmarks of the Upper Delaware through education, outreach and fundraising, and over the past couple of years they have sponsored bus tours and hikes and lectures and a haunted history tour among other events.

Sullivan County Historian John Conway told me, “Like most of the events The Delaware Company organizes, this event is intended to be both an educational opportunity and a fundraiser, but most of all we want it to be fun for all involved. Besides having a strong local connection, beer played such an important role in the lives of virtually all colonial Americans, including George Washington, that this seemed like a natural way to celebrate the birthday of our first president.”

“Beer was a staple of 18th century life. Although most of the American rivers and streams were free from pollution at that time, colonists had brought with them from Europe a fear of drinking water, which was often polluted in England, and sometimes even deadly. Beer was a typical substitute, and everyone, including children, regularly partook.”

“And if they weren’t drinking beer (or more likely, ale) men were drinking a concoction made from it, including a beer-based mixed drink called “flip,” a colonial favorite made from mixing beer with dried pumpkin, molasses and rum.”

Conway noted, “Here in this region, the earliest settlers purchased land from the Native Americans using strong beer and whiskey for currency. Later, many of those same settlers utilized wild hops to brew family sized batches of beer for their own personal consumption. Hops were cultivated in many parts of what was to become Sullivan County, including on the flats in Narrowsburg and in the Basket area.”

“Still later, small commercial breweries existed throughout Sullivan County. This, of course, is a phenomenon that has begun to repeat itself in recent years with local breweries popping up in Roscoe, and Callicoon and Livingston Manor, and another being proposed for Eldred. The Roscoe, Callicoon and Livingston Manor breweries will all be featured at our event. Callicoon is the defending champion…their Brown Cow Porter was voted the overwhelming favorite at last year’s Washington’s Birthday Beer Tasting.”

In addition to the local brews, they will feature several others, most likely including Sam Adams and Saratoga lagers and at least one IPA.

Conway said, “We know Washington brewed beer at Mount Vernon, and we know he served it to his staff and his guests there. Historians have even preserved a recipe– written in Washington’s own hand– for “small beer,” a brew with low alcohol content that was typically served to children and servants.”

“As the Revolutionary War was coming to an end and the British Army finally evacuated New York City on November 25, 1783, General Washington celebrated the event with a draft of ale at Manhattan’s Bull’s Head Tavern, located in what would later be called the Bowery.”

Several days later, Washington toasted his officers as he bade them farewell at Fraunces Tavern on Broad Street, hoisting a tankard and proclaiming, “with a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.”

Besides the beer, food will be served, “what we call 18th century tavern fare– including wings and pate’ and a cottage pie along with a bean and kale soup with bread. And we will have a giant birthday cake.”

Barryville resident Paul Brennan, a re-enactor who often portrays George Washington, will be on hand in his persona as the guest of honor. Linda Russell, who was the official balladeer at Federal Hall for sixteen years, will provide the musical entertainment. Federal Hall, by the way, was the site of Washington’s first presidential inauguration. Linda Russell’s other featured performances include A Prairie Home Companion, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the National Archives.

There will also be a genuine Virginia Reel dance and instruction.

There will be plenty of guests on hand in colonial dress to add flavor to the afternoon.

Periodically throughout the afternoon, Conway will intersperse some trivia -mostly about beer and colonial life – and give out prizes.

The Delaware Company event is Saturday, February 21 from 2 PM to 5 PM. In case of severe weather, they have scheduled a snow day for Sunday February 22nd.

Reservations are required for the event (so they can provide an accurate count to the restaurant for the food and to be sure they have enough beer on hand). Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. RSVP via e-mail to jconway52@hotmail.com. Checks made payable to The Delaware Company should be mailed to John Conway/P.O. Box 185/Barryville, NY 12719.

And – Please don’t forget the Heart-a-Thon tomorrow Saturday February 14, 2015.

Bill Liblick has made a name for himself on National TV Talk Shows where he spouted his outspoken views from the front row. Now he offers you his opinion every week in the “MOUTH THAT ROARS” Column in THE SULLIVAN COUNTY POST.

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