Only Sissy could see the ghost


 


Sissy the Cat was a sleepy pet. She spent most of her days and evenings napping on Ruth Miller’s lap. Sometimes she dozed on the arm of Mr. Howard Miller’s chair.

In the evenings the Millers would sit in the parlor of their 19th-century home in Wassaic working on a scrapbook of photos and articles about the olden days in the hamlet. They loved to read about the former owner of their home, Noah Gridley.

It just so happened that Noah Gridley, who owned the iron foundry and most of the real estate in the hamlet of Wassaic in the mid-1800s, built the Miller house more than 100 years ago. Gridley himself slept in the master bedroom on the second floor, right above the parlor. It was his habit to come downstairs to the kitchen every evening for a glass of milk before bed.

How did Ruth and Howard know this? Because every single night sleepy Sissy perked up her ears, swiveled her head around to look toward the stairs, and jumped down to go meet Noah Gridley on his way to get his evening milk. The Millers never heard a creak, no footsteps on the stairs, no doors opening and closing, but Sissy never missed the sound of Noah’s ghost, even though she appeared to be asleep only a few moments before.

"Here comes Noah down the stairs," Howard would remark. Soon Sissy would be back, yawning, stretching her little paws and going right back to sleep.

And what has happened since then? Nobody has any idea if the ghost is still there because no person and no other cat can see the ghost of Noah Gridley. It is said by some folks in the little hamlet of Wassaic that early in the morning a shadowy figure is seen in the window just upstairs from the parlor. Could it be Noah looking for Sissy?

Latest News

Walking among the ‘Herd’

Michel Negroponte

Betti Franceschi

"Herd,” a film by Michel Negroponte, will be screening at The Norfolk Library on Saturday April 13 at 5:30 p.m. This mesmerizing documentary investigates the relationship between humans and other sentient beings by following a herd of shaggy Belted Galloway cattle through a little more than a year of their lives.

Negroponte and his wife have had a second home just outside of Livingston Manor, in the southwest corner of the Catskills, for many years. Like many during the pandemic, they moved up north for what they thought would be a few weeks, and now seldom return to their city dwelling. Adjacent to their property is a privately owned farm and when a herd of Belted Galloways arrived, Negroponte realized the subject of his new film.

Keep ReadingShow less
Fresh perspectives in Norfolk Library film series

Diego Ongaro

Photo submitted

Parisian filmmaker Diego Ongaro, who has been living in Norfolk for the past 20 years, has composed a collection of films for viewing based on his unique taste.

The series, titled “Visions of Europe,” began over the winter at the Norfolk Library with a focus on under-the-radar contemporary films with unique voices, highlighting the creative richness and vitality of the European film landscape.

Keep ReadingShow less
New ground to cover and plenty of groundcover

Young native pachysandra from Lindera Nursery shows a variety of color and delicate flowers.

Dee Salomon

It is still too early to sow seeds outside, except for peas, both the edible and floral kind. I have transplanted a few shrubs and a dogwood tree that was root pruned in the fall. I have also moved a few hellebores that seeded in the near woods back into their garden beds near the house; they seem not to mind the few frosty mornings we have recently had. In years past I would have been cleaning up the plant beds but I now know better and will wait at least six weeks more. I have instead found the most perfect time-consuming activity for early spring: teasing out Vinca minor, also known as periwinkle and myrtle, from the ground in places it was never meant to be.

Planting the stuff in the first place is my biggest ever garden regret. It was recommended to me as a groundcover that would hold together a hillside, bare after a removal of invasive plants save for a dozen or so trees. And here we are, twelve years later; there is vinca everywhere. It blankets the hillside and has crept over the top into the woods. It has made its way left and right. I am convinced that vinca is the plastic of the plant world. The stuff won’t die. (The name Vinca comes from the Latin ‘vincire’ which means ‘to bind or fetter.’) Last year I pulled a bunch and left it strewn on the roof of the root cellar for 6 months and the leaves were still green.

Keep ReadingShow less
Matza Lasagne by 'The Cook and the Rabbi'

Culinary craftsmanship intersects with spiritual insights in the wonderfully collaborative book, “The Cook and the Rabbi.” On April 14 at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck (6422 Montgomery Street), the cook, Susan Simon, and the rabbi, Zoe B. Zak, will lead a conversation about food, tradition, holidays, resilience and what to cook this Passover.

Passover, marked by the traditional seder meal, holds profound significance within Jewish culture and for many carries extra meaning this year at a time of great conflict. The word seder, meaning “order” in Hebrew, unfolds in a 15-step progression intertwining prayers, blessings, stories, and songs that narrate the ancient saga of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. It’s a narrative that has endured for over two millennia, evolving with time yet retaining its essence, a theme echoed beautifully in “The Cook and the Rabbi.”

Keep ReadingShow less