Lambs Hill Bridal Boutique Expands

We knew something was going on when we saw the hole in the wall at Lambs Hill Bridal Boutique right when King + Curated, the bridal boutique’s former neighbor, moved across the street to a larger location. Lambs Hill started as an experiment from realtor and artist Charlotte Guernsey a few years ago. Several storefront windows later in one of Beacon’s renovated factory buildings at 1 East Main Street, the venture has been a success.

“The space itself is what inspired me to design the boutique,” said Charlotte, whose real estate firm, Gate House Realty, represented the retail and commercial sales of 1 East Main Street after it was renovated.

Inside of Lambs Hill Bridal Boutique, which is always undergoing new design transformations.
Photo Credit: Lambs Hill

The local bridal shop expanded in order to fit more inventory into the store, and to make more room for their own office. The expansion allows Lambs Hill to fit another 150 dresses into the boutique, bringing the total to 300 dresses from 10 designers at any given time. They also converted a bathroom to add a new dressing room and full-length mirror for brides to try on the gowns, for a total of five mirrors in order to accommodate five bridal fitting appointments at one time.

“In order to carry a designer you have to purchase a certain amount each year,” Charlotte explained. “Therefore, a lot of product is coming in all the time. We are constantly unpacking new dresses.”

Lambs Hill has also dedicated more than one-fourth of the shop to plus-size dresses, ranging from sizes 16-30. Parts of the store have sample-sale dresses, or dresses that a bride can pull off the rack and take home that day. “These are great for last-minute weddings, second dresses, destination weddings. But mainly customers order dresses to their sizes.” Prices in the store range from $1,500-$2,500, while dresses from the popular designer, Haylee Paige, range from $3,000-$5,000.

Charlotte has done many of the renovations herself, including installing the herringbone wall on the new addition.

Main Street is never dull. Get out there and step into the experiences these shop owners have created for you. For more ideas on shopping in Beacon, visit A Little Beacon Blog’s Shopping Guide. Lambs Hill is a sponsor of that Guide, which allows us to show you even more of what is going on inside each week.

Early-Bird Pricing For 2020 Summer Camp Guide In A Little Beacon Blog

Back when we started the Summer Camp Guide for Beaconites, it was primarily because there were so many great camps around us, yet it was hard organizing which camps which of our children should go to on which dates. So we made a list about it, and that list quickly got used by many, many parents to referred to it as a bible as they plotted their summers.

We have also now learned that the building of these Summer Camp Guides starts in November (a great tip given to us by a magazine publisher friend). So we are announcing now the ability to get us your information so that A Little Beacon Blog’s Summer Camp Guide can be spit-spot ready to go by March, which is when the camps start sending out their notices to parents, and parents begin locking in plans.

About A Little Beacon Blog’s Readers:

Readers come from Beacon, but they also come from other Hudson Valley towns including Fishkill, Wappingers, Peekskill, Kingston and Poughkeepsie. Even New York City! We have even gotten requests from people who live in those communities to start something like A Little Beacon Blog in their cities or towns.

READERSHIP
21,500 views/month
3,690 followers on Facebook
4,900 followers on Instagram
1,700 newsletter subscribers

See our full Media Kit here.

How A Little Beacon Blog’s Guide Works (The Secret Sauce)

Our guide is a living guide, which means that it lives online on the same web page every year. This is how it has maintained its #1 ranking in Google over the years for people searching for summer camps. All of our Guides work this way, in fact. Here’s our Secret Sauce:

• Lots of Great Recommendations: We include basic information for camps based in Beacon for free. This includes the dates. The dates are the most important part for parents.

• Links: We include links to camps’ websites because that’s what Google loves, because readers love links. Easy-peasy connections to info!

• Dedicated Sponsor Pages: Advertising camps get their own pages on A Little Beacon Blog. So, you pay for a page on our website that can include lots of details about your camp, including price, descriptions, photos, etc. Even videos if you have them!

Why Advertising In The Guide Is Crucial For Camps In And Outside Of Beacon

There are a lot of great camps. The space even inside of Beacon has gotten crowded. Parents look outside of Beacon for different date ranges, age ranges, and specialties. A Little Beacon Blog’s Summer Camp Guide is a central place for them to refer to as they research and register.

• So Much! While we started listing as much as we could for free for Beacon businesses, we started drowning over the years. We no longer can keep it up without sponsor support from the camps.

• Dates get released late into the season. While this turns into breaking news and is good for us to get the scoop on, we might not get to it because, well, Life. This is why advertising is helpful. It locks in your update!

• Stand out in the competition. Those who advertise get logos and photos, and can get featured on the main page of the Summer Camp Guide.

Early-Bird Special - Pay Now - Get Your Camp Info Updated In Advance!

The Early-Bird Special is going on now for enhanced listing in A Little Beacon Blog’s Summer Camp Guide. Parents are planning their summers early. Let them see your programming and dates!

The Summer Camp Guide lives here:

https://www.alittlebeaconblog.com/summer-camp-guide

An advertiser at Level 2 in that guide ($485 Early Bird, regularly $685) is ID Tech Summer Camp. See how their listing looks in the main Summer Camp Guide, and then the special sponsor page they get.

Their dedicated sponsor page is here:

https://www.alittlebeaconblog.com/summer-camp-guide-listings/id-tech-summer-camp-stem-education

You can purchase the advertising online here at any time, and we will get it up for you onto the website. That way it will be ready for whenever it is that parents begin their research!

Even if you don’t know dates yet, you can buy now during our Early-Bird period, and submit the information when you’re ready.

Advertising Perk For Black Friday For Our Subscription Advertisers

Here’s the deal, guys: Here’s how one of the most fun advertising packages works at A Little Beacon Blog. It’s a program we created just for Main Street businesses.

No other magazine does it this way. We crafted it this way because we love telling stories. We love showing pictures. We love 💕 sharing the juicy details of what our small-business friends are doing with our readers.

Black Friday is next week. In addition to this weekend’s newsletter, we are prepping next week’s because we too will be traveling and shopping! We are going to all of our subscription advertisers to find our what they are offering for Black Friday, and including it in this next newsletter. If you were thinking of joining as an advertiser in our Guide advertising (curated recommendations), or our new Business Directory, now is the time to start. We can include your special Black Friday Deal in this roundup.

✨✨HOW IT WORKS✨✨

SHOPPING GUIDE: $185/month to show storefront and product photos that best reflect your shop and logo. $285/month is that and weekly features in the newsletter and blog! Plus random Instastories.

RESTAURANTS: Our Restaurant Guide ranks top in Google for people searching for where to eat in Beacon. $185/month to elevate your listing with a storefront photo, logo, and photo gallery. For $285/month, get that, plus music and event listings. People want the musical lineups, but we can’t list them all for free. We’ll drown! Help us help you. Includes Weekly features in the weekend newsletter.

CLASSES: Another reader favorite. We randomly feature curious and on-off classes. For more control of your description and listings, you can enhance this listing. $185/month includes your photo, logo, photo gallery, and overall class programming with links to where to buy. $285/month is that, plus weekly features in our weekend newsletter.

We think ahead for the marketing ideas for you.

All you have to do is be awesome!

Dream Opportunity For You To Own A Jeffrey Terreson Piece - HUGE Moving Sale Happens This November Weekend (Sponsored)

Remember that time when the artist Jeffrey Terreson moved to Beacon? Into 475 Main Street, the building next to the Howland Cultural Center that is currently for sale? He brought to us sculpture-like paintings that Ralph Lauren, Joseph Abboud, major interior designers, architects, and others collected. After this weekend, he is completing his move to Katonah, but before he does, he’s having a major, MAJOR art sale to make that load easier for him.

Classified as a fine artist, Jeffrey wonders why people restrict themselves to a brush in the fine art world. He uses a knife to carve the textured material he sometimes includes in his work, like sand. Or a blow-torch to melt the wax he mixes in with paint. His paintings are layered with history of his vision as it gets covered up by new layers and vision and carved into to tell new secrets.

As Jeffrey closes out his Beacon chapter, he is not doing so quietly. He is having a MAJOR MOVING SALE. Yeah, we said it in all-caps. Because it’s huge. And let’s be honest, it is unusual for an artist to do. But again, let’s be honest. Jeffrey is an unusual artist.

Months ago, Jeffrey opened a new gallery in Katonah, called Forward Contemporary. He has been very busy securing his art in respected realms for a fine artist, and has written you a letter about it in this article below.

Sale For Two Days Only - Up To
80% Off Prints (Some Enhanced) and 50% Off Originals

Believe it. If you pined for Jeffrey’s art before, or worse - if you put it off because you thought you could buy it at any time, this is your time. It’s not the last time you can buy Jeffrey Terreson, of course. He is alive and well. And you can find his new gallery in Katonah. But this is the only time for this kind of sale.

There might even be bidding wars. The large white piece that some of you know so well - several have chirped up for it. So don’t wait. Text Jeffrey at (914) 772-6570. Secure the piece you want, however, with your credit card or cash. This is a first-come, first-get sale.

First-Come, First-Get.
Saturday and Sunday Only!

Here’s how this is going to work. You need to go into the gallery at 475 Main Street in Beacon, NY on Second Saturday and Sunday: November 9 and 10. Talk to Jeffrey. Get the price. Lock it in and walk away with an incredible piece of art, or make an offer and wait. The gallery is located next to the Howland Cultural Center, across from Echo.

This sale includes originals, prints, enhanced prints (meaning, Jeffrey painted on them), and other surprises you’ll find out about when you go.

Out Of Town? No Problem.
Shipping Works.

OK, fine - if you’re out of town, you can still be in on this sale. Secure a work with your credit card, and give your shipping address. It’s that simple.

Letter From Jeffrey Terreson:
“Dear Beaconites…“

In his own words, here is a parting letter from Jeffrey. You can see his take on the art industry at the moment, and his latest accomplishments. You can always visit his website at www.jeffreyterreson.com and Instagram at @jeffreyterreson_fineart.

Beacon has the best people, great friends. I love Beacon.

We are taking this wonderful experience and moving it closer to my home, in Bedford, NY. To our new space in Katonah. It is 5 miles from my home. I was up in Beacon 352 days last year. Gas alone ends up being half my rent in the new gallery. So economics played a big role in my decision to move out of the Beacon gallery.

This year has been great on several fronts. Recently, I have been working on major project with architects from San Francisco and West Palm Beach. Really exciting!

On the museum front, I have a piece juried in by the curator from Museum of Fine Art in Boston, as guest juror, into the Katonah Museum of Art, for “Sound.”

I also had a piece called “Weathered White” chosen by the curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver for their Gala show! It was an amazing gala. I am also in discussion with the Parrish Museum about a cool project. TBA. Sign up for my newsletter and you’ll get the info.

SIDE NOTE FOR ARTISTS:
One goal for all artists who take the more serious fine art path over the commercial path is to garner museum credentials. It is a complete risk. 100%. Plus the audience for sales is smaller. The work has has to be noticed.

But I know if I stop, I will never get there. So my role as an artist is to keep painting when no one is looking. When they do see, I will have the equity in my work to engage the opportunity. You just cannot wait for opportunity to show and not be prepared. We are what we manifest. It is a full-time commitment.

The future for me holds more China engagement, some art fairs and bringing new artists to the gallery in Katonah. The Katonah space is really special. Please come and visit. I invite all to stop by. Of course we are on Instagram, which is really becoming the “website “ for our industry. Visit us at @forwardcontemporary on Instagram.

But come see me on November’s Second Saturday in Beacon.

—Jeffrey Terreson

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Terreson

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Terreson

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Editorial Sponsor Note: Y’all. We at A Little Beacon Blog are going to miss Jeffrey very much. From before the day he stepped foot in Beacon, he became a financial supporter of A Little Beacon Blog by way of sponsoring his announcement article. Getting to know his story was so awesome, we even published a behind-the-scenes article on the building and gallery. He has now sponsored this Moving Sale article. We thank him so much for respecting the craft of writing and getting the word out. Honestly, it’s an art to do what we do. To build a relationship with you. Jeffrey recognizes that, and we appreciate it. Thank you for supporting him!

Kids + Bus Safety Is Crucial In First Days Of School - Antalek and Moore Gives Tips (Sponsored)

The end of summer vacation comes too quickly and before you know it, it’s that time of year again! School buses are picking up children all around, parents are in a rush to drop their kids off without being late to work, and kids are on their bikes rushing to catch first period. “This can be a dangerous time because children - as well as drivers - are adjusting to back-to-school routines,” says Alex Epstein, director of Transportation Safety for the National Safety Council (NSC). Fortunately, Antalek & Moore has a few key tips to keep our community safe and happy:

BE PATIENT – STOP AND WAIT
Share the road with school buses. We know the first few days take a little longer to get the kids loaded, but be patient! Who doesn't love a good first day back-to-school picture with their kids waving from the bus?  

KIDS IN MOST DANGER NEAR THEIR BUS
According to the National Safety Council, the most dangerous area for children is within 10 feet of their bus. Give them space to load and unload. This is especially true in the first few weeks of school as kids are excited and getting used to this year's routine.
If the bus has its lights on and its stop sign out - it is never safe to pass the bus. This applies to multiple lanes as well, so be aware when traveling on a road like Route 9 as school buses may be traveling in the opposite direction.

WATCH FOR KIDS WALKING TO SCHOOL
We have a good amount of our students who walk to and from school in Beacon. Please be aware of them, especially in a school zone. Be sure to follow posted speed limits, avoid blocking crosswalks when stopped, and keep an eye out for crossing guards. 

Many children nationwide begin and end their days with a trip to and from school, whether that’s by bus, walking or biking. By exercising a little extra care and caution, we can create a happy and safe school zone. Wishing all Beacon City School District students, a happy and safe 2019-2020 school year!

Monday Is The New Saturday For Local Shopping By Beaconites

Monday is the new Saturday for local shopping in Beacon! Darryl’s Women’s Clothing Boutique is the latest boutique on Main Street to be open daily. Being open every day of the week is no small feat for a small business, as it requires staffing and effort. But it tends to be the ultimate goal for retail, as daily hours are easier for shoppers to remember, if they want to visit their favorite shops without remembering individual schedules.

Open Hours and Dia: Beacon - Breaking Of Reliance

In the olden days (like, up until about last year), stores in Beacon were mostly closed on Tuesdays because Dia:Beacon was closed on Tuesdays. The museum’s selection of Beacon’s riverside site launched the rebuilding of uphill, Main Street Beacon (which at the moment is in full swing). But with years of good press coverage, Beacon has grown as a destination town, bringing more foot traffic on different days, especially Monday holidays. Being that the weekend is naturally busy for a store, boutiques and restaurants would often close on Mondays as well, to recoup from the weekend and do paperwork and administrative tasks. That too has begun to change, with retail experimenting with opening on Mondays as well.

Parking On Mondays Also An Added Bonus!

Everyone knows that there’s essentially no parking to be found on the weekends. You can see our Guide For Free Parking to find your best bets for lots to park in. But no parking is a great excuse to walk, and walking Main Street is fun on the weekend. So many people to see, and shops to visit.

Parking on Mondays in Beacon is possible! More shops are staying open on Monday, and parking is a bonus.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

Yet, when doing a bunch of errands, it can be so much easier to park in a central spot. For businesses, that ease of access is a benefit of being open on Mondays! Pictured here are two parking spots open near Mountain Tops and Darryl’s on a Monday. As one of our readers, Rose Merando Story, pointed out, locals have been venturing out to shop on Mondays because there is more parking: “I've noticed the locals try to stay away from Main Street on the weekends because of the traffic and parking situation and they tend to shop on Mondays.”

Monday It Is

So, all you Beaconites reading this, venture out on a Monday and reward these stores with your purchase. It’s you who keeps them here! We all like window shopping, but if you want a pretty window to look at, you’ll walk through the door and get to know what is available inside. You will be SO surprised. Constantly.

Find This jacket at Darryl’s Clothing Boutique. It is one of many Fun, Frilly pieces - and often they have sales!

PS: Can we discuss this jacket? Fundraiser Event Season is right around the corner, and Darryl’s Clothing Boutique will have your style. This jacket is easy to move your arms in, well-shaped, and 20 percent off the already on-sale price of $79. You do the math.

PPS: Darryl’s is a Sponsor in A Little Beacon Blog’s Shopping 🛍 Guide. Thank you for supporting businesses who support us!

The Crafty Hammer Signs On To Sponsor A Little Beacon Blog's Event Guide

Thank to our newest sponsor and one of the newest businesses in town, The Crafty 🔨Hammer! They are under construction over there in the Ritter Building, across from Rite Aid, in what is now purple and a former yoga studio space (a moment of reflection for the departed yoga studios!). Keep up with The Crafty Hammer each week in our Friday newsletter, and do peek in through the window while they are building! They already shared a power drill with us!

With support from local businesses like this, we can continue updating A Little Beacon Blog with upcoming events! There is a Submission Page that gets info to us for consideration. The Crafty Hammer is also a sponsor in the Adult Classes Guide, because they have so many DIY workshops you want to be a part of! Make your own stuff on their big workshop tables!

If you want to start sponsoring A Little Beacon Blog in some way, please see our Media Kit for ideas, and then contact us!

What Does The Community Action Partnership Of Dutchess County Do?

It’s possible you’ve never noticed Community Action Partnership of Dutchess County - the storefront behind Antalek & Moore, in the same strip as Rite Aid - but it’s connected to a powerhouse of services available to low-income families and individuals to help them become more self-sufficient. After we heard that Community Action Partnership had a food pantry in the Beacon office - which was not on our Food Pantry Guide - we wanted to do an article on them to highlight more of what they do, because clearly there is a whole lot more available, that Beaconites might not know about. And then Antalek & Moore tapped their neighbor, Community Action Partnership, to spotlight this month with their A-grade production.

Community Action Partnership’s mission is to partner with individuals and families to eliminate poverty and identify the resources and opportunities available to enhance their self-reliance.

Antalek & Moore has a long history of working close with the community and residents of Beacon - from families to small businesses, services go beyond professional and financial assistance. Antalek & Moore has partnered with many local charities, whose purpose is to enhance the health and wellness of Dutchess County residents.

Helping Families In Need

If you are not familiar with Community Action Partnership for Dutchess County, they have been a vital part of Dutchess County for many years, serving a growing segment of the community that might need otherwise-inaccessible services.

Every day, they stand behind their mission to "partner with individuals and families to eliminate poverty and identify the resources and opportunities available to them to enhance their self-reliance." 

Says Susan Pagones, executive partner at Antalek & Moore: “We have had the privilege to work alongside Dutchess County Community Action Partnership for over 20 years, to ensure that as they expand their services throughout Dutchess County into multiple locations, their insurance coverage grows with them.”

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Antalek & Moore is a sponsor of A Little Beacon Blog, and this article was created with them as part of our Sponsor Spotlight program. It is with the support of businesses like theirs that A Little Beacon Blog can bring you coverage of news, local happenings and events. Thank you for supporting businesses who support us! If you would like to become a Sponsor or Community Partner, please click here for more information.

Take Part in BeaconArts' Upcoming Member Show! Submissions Now Open!

All BeaconArts members are invited to submit artwork for our first annual Member Show at Hudson Beach Gallery (above Hudson Beach Glass) at 162 Main St., Beacon, NY. The exhibition runs Saturday, July 13 to Sunday, August 4, and is curated by Theresa Gooby and Karlyn Benson.

Space is limited, so send your submissions to membershow@beaconarts.org before Friday, May 24 to guarantee your spot. All mediums are welcome. For complete details and submission guidelines please visit the event’s website.

If you would like to participate, but are not a BeaconArts member or need to renew, please click here to join today.

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BeaconArts is a Community Partner of A Little Beacon Blog and is part of our Sponsor Spotlight program. This article was part of their monthly messaging partnership. Thank you for supporting organizations who support us!

Branding Made Easy :: Small Businesses Can Post Couture Branded Templates (Sponsored)

A special message from our sponsor, Katie James, Inc.

Branding Made Easy :: Social Media Card Templates

The philosophy at Katie James, Inc. is to make clients’ lives easy, branded and beautiful. Katie James, Inc. is designing blank Social Media Cards for clients to use as they share announcements, like "Open Hours" or if they post a new workshop. This is especially important after a new website design, where the business wants social media posts to match their new website look. This way, followers in Instagram will quickly and easily see and get a feel for the brand as they thumb through Instagram.

These templates were designed for Knot Too Shabby, at 155 Main Street in Beacon, NY, where they sell Annie Sloan Home furniture paint, stencils, picture frames, soap, country-style signs, and other household decor. Now, the business owner Caryn can use whatever photo she wants for a new Make and Take Class, and put the official title on top of it, then upload it to her Shopify website, and voila! She is on-brand.

For example, if Caryn decided to host a new class where the signage is a personalized baseball, she can do this, and put the Make and Take title atop it without asking Katie James, Inc., her website design team, to do it for her. (Empowerment is everything!)

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Katie James, Inc. is a Spotlight Sponsor of A Little Beacon Blog, and a sister design agency who has designed this website and sponsors’ ads. It is with the support of businesses that A Little Beacon Blog can bring you coverage of news, local happenings and events. Thank you for supporting businesses who support us! If you would like to become a Sponsor or Community Partner, please click here for more information.

Sunday Real Estate Feature: Cute Storefront Space on Main Street - Formerly A Kids Consignment Shop

Here's a little secret - this little yellow storefront is what hooked my hubby and myself into Beacon. Back when we were only thinking of making the move up from the city, we had dreams of filling it with a boutique, and doing something spectacular with the raw warehouse space behind it (also available for rent right now). What will you do with it?
From Gate House Realty: “Beautifully maintained storefront in Central Main Street zoned business district of Beacon. High visibility with double window displays, open floor plan with incredible natural light, hardwood floors and half bath. Available immediately. Call listing agent to schedule a viewing.”
RENT: $2,000/month
Real Estate Agent: Gate House Realty, (845) 831-9550
Details + Pictures >

Happy Independent Bookstore Day, Binnacle Books! Last Chance On Their Original Tote Bag

Happy Independent Bookstore Day Binnacle Books! It’s risky for any retail shop to open a brick-and-mortar store, but perhaps even more so for an indie bookstore! Many cheers to Binnacle Books for doing that in Beacon, and for connecting all of us with the printed page and for readings and other book 📖 based events.

It’s also really easy to order any book you want from Binnacle - just tell them what you want over the counter or the phone, they click up some magic, and 💥 BAM, you can pick it up in the store!

Binnacle Books has helped promote other indie bookstores by making available the Hudson Valley Book Trail Map, debuting today in their shop. Plus, this is your last chance to get one of their original tote bags - perfect timing for the plastic bag ban!

Says their newsletter: “Stop by to browse some fantastic recent releases, revisit old favorites, or get a recommendation for something new. If you spend $75 or more with us today, we'll throw in one of our original blue totes with your order. If you ever wanted one, now's your chance: after this run sells out, we aren't printing them again.” 

A Little Beacon Blog is honored to partner with all of our sponsors, but especially so when Binnacle approached us, wanting to sponsor our Shopping Guide. Thank you for having faith in us! Binnacle Books is a Sponsor, but this is not a sponsored post. It’s a “Celebrate Indie Bookstores!” post.

Go give Binnacle some love! Binnacle Books is at 321 Main St., Beacon, NY.

Exciting New Frames From Anne & Valentin Visiting Luxe Optique

What a delightful surprise while making our sponsor rounds today for this weekend’s Friday Feature in the newsletter (subscribe if you haven’t!). When stepping into Luxe Optique, we got to see a real live stylist and representative from Anne & Valentin with the newest designs.

Often, actually, we stumble in when a major line is in the store with all of their suitcases filled with precious goodies while we’re collecting a feature photo.

Meet Andry pictured here. He was sooo nice, and knew all about the designer curves of all of these new frames. Look for Luxe Optique’s feature photo in their sponsor spot this Friday!

Discover more shops in A Little Beacon Blog’s Shopping Guide! You can always tap Guides and Calendars in the navigation above - from your computer or mobile.

A Girl Can’t Pass Up A Good Sale Rack...La Mere Delivers

A girl can’t pass a good sale rack... La Mère Clothing and Goods always delivers.

It was a pleasure visiting the shop and #shootingtheshingle (a new Tin Shingle term!) during our mini-photo session for her sponsor spot in A Little Beacon Blog’s Shopping Guide!

Go visit our Shopping Guide to learn about more Beacon stores, by tapping Guides and Calendars, then tap Shopping Guide.

Do hit up this clothing rack in person!

2019 Parade of Green Grand Marshal Fred Antalek Shares His Fondest Beacon Memory - "Rowing Behind Rite Aid" (Sponsored)

You’ve seen this face before - longtime Beacon resident and business owner Fred Antalek. Fred was born in 1937 and still works for his family business, Antalek & Moore Insurance Agency, coming to work “faithfully to keep everyone in check.” On Saturday, March 9, 2019, he’ll be bundling up along with everyone else to serve for his first time as the Grand Marshal in Beacon’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade of Green.

To find out how Fred feels about being this year’s Grand Marshal, we reached out to his daughter, Susan Antalek Pagones, who now runs the business with her partner Vince Lemma and their team of staff members. “Fred is quite honored about being the Grand Marshal this year,” Susan replied. “People ask if he is Irish… LOL, he is actually from the Gallagher family, so don’t be fooled!”

Fred’s Fondest Memory of Beacon

Schoonmaker’s, a department store in Beacon. Open from 1929 to 1960.
Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society

Our Beacon elders are filled with fond and important memories. We asked Susan for one of Fred’s: “When Fred was 10 years old, he used to row around in a boat on the street behind Rite Aid,” Susan recalled. That street is also the location of Antalek & Moore’s current Beacon office. “This area was always flooded.”

Flooded? “Yes,” said Fred. “Matteawan Brook is what constantly overflowed. This brook caused major flooding to the back of what is now Rite Aid and the intersection of Church and South Chestnut Street.” Before Rite Aid, the location was the home of Schoonmaker’s.

Schoonmaker’s, which you may have heard references to in old stories, was one of the first department stores in Beacon. According to the Beacon Historical Society:

Schoonmaker's Department Store. Beacon had its first "modern" Department Store when Schoonmaker's opened its doors in the Christmas season of 1929. With "60 departments under one roof" (including "Toyland" in the basement), Schoonmaker's was the first stop for your Christmas shopping on Main Street. Later on, across the street at 341 Main, was the W.T. Grant store (Schoonmaker's biggest competitor), where you could even buy a live parakeet for Christmas! Like so many other good things in Beacon, Schoonmaker's and Grant’s were both gone by the late 1960s.

- Beacon Historical Society

View fullsize

A map of Beacon from 1876, when the town was known as Fishkill on the Hudson. The Map shows the Matteawan stream.

UPDATE 3/9/2019: Since first publishing this article, a reader wrote in with a picture of a map of Beacon from 1876 when it was known as Fishkill on the Hudson. The stream is also on the 1867 map we covered earlier. The reader, Air Nonken Rhodes, is on the Resources Committee for Beacon, a new committee that is currently compiling all known natural resources in Beacon. Residents who live in that area still experience some flooding, so we asked Air about the stream as it is today:

“They buried the stream circa 1910 - scavenger hunt to find the plaque in Memorial Park commemorating that! The stream-burying was done rather poorly. It was especially challenging since it was swampy ground all around what’s now Rite Aid. That’s a big part of why the center section of Main Street wasn’t developed sooner and more fully. So, flooded basements still today, and not many historic buildings along there.”

More Beacon Business Trivia

Family businesses run deep in Beacon. Fred used to have his office on East Main Street, where Tiko’s Hair is now. “I remember it well,” recalled Susan. “I used to slide along the floor, where the large picture window is. playing with my toys. His sister Mary Ann worked for him.” In the late ’70s/early ’80s, Fred moved to 308 Main Street, where the Darrow Brothers used to have their clothing store. When Fred merged with Pat Moore, the business moved to 340 Main Street, Antalek & Moore’s current location. Fred’s mother worked at Gallagher’s Market, the current location of BAJA.

Continuing in her father’s footsteps, Susan has recently closed on the purchase of their building. She is one of Beacon’s newest female building owners. She’s got her eyes fixed on a new project on their roof involving a light. “We are trying to get the ‘beacon’ light on the roof - look for it the next time you pass by. I think that might be neat to find out the history of that.”

Stay tuned…

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