Ruth Danon grew up on the grounds of a mental hospital where her mother was a psychiatrist and many neighbors were European immigrants fleeing the devastation of World War 2. She forged a winding literary path, publishing four poetry collections and developing a style of teaching that treats writing as a studio art. She moved to Beacon in 2020 and now teaches privately and curates literary events such as the Spring Street Reading Series at Atlas Studios in Newburh and the Beacon Lit Fest, 

In this interview Ruth talks about her life and reads a cluster of poems from her new collection, “Turn up the Heat.” 

Photo credit: Meredith Heuer 

Pam Wetherbee grew up in Newburgh and moved to Beacon in 1986 for an almost unfathomable reason: affordability. In this episode, she talks about changes to Beacon in the 38 years since she moved here and her hopes for the city now. In this episode... 

Affordability. Pam also shares her perspective on housing affordability, including a recent study that found the city needs more of both lower income and luxury homes, but not necessarily middle-income homes. Can this be believed? 

Views. And, Pam wants to preserve views of Mount Beacon for as many residents as possible. “Looking at the mountain from Fishkill Avenue, to me it’s just a gem, and to lose that because we’ve built higher and blocked it? That needs to be considered.” 

Social services. How many people in Beacon are in need, but we don't know? Pam is concerned that older and poorer resident may be experiencing isolation and health risks, and she sees a role for the city in identifying and helping those in need. 

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This episode was recorded and edited by Beacon AV Lab. Photo courtesy of Michael Isabell. 

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As she kicks off her second term, Molly Rhodes comes on the podcast to discuss the major issues facing Beacon and her Ward. Molly grew up in New York City, the child of UK immigrants. Her first exposure to the Hudson Valley came when she was young and her family rented a house in Cornwall. 

This episode includes a lengthy discussion of the Fishkill Avenue Corridor zoning process, which could have a huge impact on Beacon's future building stock.

Greg Slick is an artist whose work reflects a fascination with late stone age art. In this interview he shares childhood memories of neolithic ruins and how their “muteness” provided fodder for his creative practice. Greg also shares memories of Beacon’s gallery scene in the years after Dia:Beacon opened and assesses the Hudson Valley art scene today. Greg was the co-owner of a celebrated gallery, Go North (2006-2009), and his wife Karlyn Benson operated her own gallery, Matteawan (2013-2018). 

Learn more about Greg and his art at his website. 

Zandy Mangold is an ultramarathon runner, running coach and high-spirited guy who has completed — and in some cases won — some of the world's toughest endurance races. Zandy shares experiences running the Spartathlon (153 miles), Western States (100 miles), Badwater (135 miles) and the Atacama Crossing (155 miles). In his coaching life, Zandy works with people of all ability levels at any stage of their running journey. On the side, he has a business baking plant-based cookies.

Even if you aren’t an endurance athlete, you’re likely to gain something from this episode and be drawn in by Zandy’s worldview. 

Zandy is organizing a 10K race in association with the upcoming Beacon Bonfire festival on Nov 4-5. The Beacon Bonfireball 10K will take place the morning of Nov 4 and is sure to be a great excursion for both competitive and casual runners. Find the registration link at BeaconBonfire.com

Corey Dwyer has just started his second full school year as principal at Beacon High School. Corey attended BHS himself and has an interesting story to tell about his journey as an educator and administrator. In this interview he talks about many facets of the high school experience - including academics, clubs & extra-curriculars, mental health support, college advisory services and more. 

Corey has a hearing impairment and has worn hearing aids most of his life, and I think this makes him a great leadership figure in particular for students who may face physical and other challenges as they try to learn, make friends and speak up for themselves in a big school of 850 students. 

Thanks to Niche Lighting for sponsoring this episode of Beaconites. Check out their Factory Sale on Oct 7-8. 

This episode was recorded and edited by Beacon AV Lab. Photo of Corey by Michael Isabell. 

Our deepest thanks to all the Beaconites listeners, guests and other supporters who have helped us get to 100 episodes. 

Eve Morgenstern is the founder of the Soon Is Now festival, taking place Saturday September 23 at Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park. Gary Hilderbrand is a renowned landscape architect and founding partner of Reed Hilderbrand, which oversaw the design and construction of the park. 

In this episode, Gary, who grew up in Wappingers Falls and whose dad worked at the Nabisco box plant, shares memories of Beacon's waterfront from the 1960s and 1970s. And Eve and Gary talk about how artists, landscape architects and others are responding to the environmental violence wrought by climate change. 

For more on Soon Is Now and how to experience this immersive day of climate change and eco-themed performance and art, visit SoonIsNow.org.

George talks about his decision to sell Dogwood to Brendan McAlpine nearly 11 years after opening the bar. Going forward, George plans to spend more time making art and focus on his other two ventures: Quinns and Untouchable (a new bar set to open in Newburgh), both in partnership with Tom and Yukie Schmitz. He also discusses his seven terms on city council, his proudest achievements and the work that remains to be done. 

Dogwood's closing weekend (September 16-17) will feature upwards of 35 bands. Be there!

The Highlands Current recently published a series of features on the profound changes to Beacon, including demographic shifts, surging tax revenues, crime and policing, spiraling housing costs and other aspects of civic life. The package culminated in a conversation between Beacon's four living mayors: Clara Lou Gould (Beacon's Moses), Steve Gold (the recession mayor), Randy Casale (our first ever guest on this podcast) and current mayor Lee Kyriacou. 

To recap that coverage and share his perspective on all the dizzying changes to our city, we're glad to welcome reporter Jeff Simms back to the podcast. Jeff has attended more council, planning board, zoning board of appeals and school board meetings than perhaps any other resident and shares his informed perspective on current city business and the forces that will shape Beacon in years to come. 

Calli Rothberg is the owner of Passion - The Adult Dance Studio on Main Street. Calli grew up in Beacon as part of a big family. When the pandemic hit, she and all her siblings moved home to Beacon, living again in the house where they all grew up (which happens to be the second oldest home in Beacon, after the Madam Brett homestead). This disruption of her life led to a period of soul searching that in turn inspired her to open her studio in early 2022.