the view in Ghent yesterday
Welcome to another issue of The Jiffy, a newsletter with documentary stories about upstate New York.
But more importantly, welcome to 2026: a semiquincentennial in the U.S. (apparently also called the bisesquicentennial, the sestercentennial, or the quarter millennium), which is, as my friend Dana pointed out, a lot of good password options that you can use to recognize the bipartisan 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
To mark this milestone, I’m starting a new series here at The Jiffy that will look at how the New York of today is celebrating this event by looking at the New York of the 1770s:
The Jiffty 250, a look at New York looking at itself
I’m calling it The Jiffty 250: A Look At New York Looking At Itself, and I hope you’ll follow along! If you have any tips on events, reenactments, odd histories, or anything else, please reply to this email and let me know.
Coming soon, I’ve got an audio biography of Shaker Mother Ann Lee, who founded the Shakers by trekking back and forth, hundreds of miles and visiting 36 towns and villages across the Berkshire Mountains and the Hudson River during the Revolutionary War.
Colonists thought she was a witch, a spy for the British, both, or a heretic determined to destroy families everywhere. But if you asked her, she accomplished her sacred mission. It’s a story worthy of an award-winning biopic, and I hope to see “The Testament of Ann Lee” in the next few days. Have you seen it?
OK, on to this issue:
the 1872 clock tower in Chatham, New York
I didn’t realize it in the moment when Stephen Piazza and I said goodbye and shook hands. But as I write this and think back, one might say that I shook the hand of time itself.
That’s because Stephen is the village timekeeper for Chatham, a job he takes quite seriously, and in my research for a previous episode, “A Guide To The Many Chathams,” he took me up the many steps to the top of the historic clock tower on Main Street to show me how he meticulously, laboriously winds the clock to regulate the pendulum.
The Italianate-style red-brick tower was built in 1872 with a rare, antique, four-sided clock by Boston’s E. Howard & Co. that requires its weights to be wound twice each week to stay accurate.
And to get to the top, we had to climb three sets of diabolically steep stairs, through three trap doors, under a huge bell, and into the clock chamber. Already out of breath, Stephen needs to crank it as many as 130 rotations if he wants to keep it running as true as possible.
“ I try to get it to run between 30 seconds to the hour and 30 seconds after the hour,” he told me.
It’s a lot of work, and not a lot of people get to see it performed!
Because it’s the first week of the new year, I’ve been reflecting on the passage of time a bit. So in this week’s episode of the podcast, I wanted to take you as close to the face of time as it is possible to reach here in my neighborhood.
I hope you’ll give it a listen:
Back outside, I noticed that both of Stephen’s wrists were suspiciously without a timepiece. I asked him why, and he said, “ I have my phone. I used to wear a watch all the time when I was working, but then I decided it was just cumbersome and, yeah. I use my phone.”
a food focus this time!
Slow Food Hudson Valley will host a Stone Soup edition of SFHV’s Cookbook Club, a winter gathering focused on shared cooking and food justice. Chef and cookbook author Mona Talbott and Columbia Kitchen will help participants make large pots of seasonal soup (one vegan, one gluten-free) using ingredients contributed by participants, with leftovers packed for local free fridges. Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for non-members; participants are asked to bring an ingredient, with aprons, knives, and cutting boards provided. Sun., Jan. 11, 2–5 p.m., Churchtown Firehouse, Taghkanic, N.Y. (Info here)
Julia Turshen will host one of her popular online cooking classes, this one focused on “Four Impressive Sauces!,” 90 minutes focused on four pantry-to-plate upgrades: hollandaise, cheese Mornay, homemade chili crisp, and piri piri sauce. “As always, tips, tricks, and laughs will be shared.” The ticket is sliding-scale, and a portion of proceeds will be donated to Everytown for Gun Safety. Sun., Jan. 11, 2 p.m. Online. (Info here)
Apex Kitchen Rx will host a hands-on Knife Skills class focused on building confidence with chopping, slicing, and everyday kitchen techniques. The 90-minute session is designed for home cooks of all levels and emphasizes practical skills you can immediately use at home, in a small, supportive class setting. Sat., Jan. 17, 11 a.m., Wappinger Falls, N.Y. (Info here)
You can eat while hunting ghosts at a Paranormal Investigation & Dinner at the Publick House Historic Inn. Authors and investigators Thomas D'Agostino and Arlene Nicholson will combine a buffet dinner with Beelzebub, with a brief history presentation, hands-on investigation of reportedly active areas of the inn (including the nefarious Room 40), and a visit to the adjacent cemetery, weather permitting and unless you survive. Dinner is followed by a reveal of shared evidence; equipment is provided, with a cash bar available. Wed., Jan. 14, 6–9:30 p.m., Sturbridge, Mass. (Info here)
Kingston Farmers Market will host their annual Kimchi Making Workshop with East Branch Farms, offering a hands-on introduction to fermenting seasonal vegetables. You can learn the fundamentals of kimchi-making and leave with roughly a half gallon to take home; attendees are asked to bring their own knife and jars. Tickets start at $33.85, with limited spots remaining. Sat., Jan. 17 and Sat., Jan. 31, Old Dutch Church, 272 Wall St., Kingston, N.Y. (Info here)
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