MUSINGS OF A LOCAL by Iris Mead - Finding Joy In Your Neighborhood

Photos:  (1) One of the AMR sites in the Bovina Valley

Lizzie Douglas & Iris Mead enjoying their sandwiches in front of Russell’s Store

I use the term “Your Neighborhood” loosely to encompass the radius included in your usual circle of travel from your home.  For some of us it’s 10 miles, for others 50 miles.  But what you can find, or happen upon, without looking can surprise you, excite you and make your day.  

The perfect example happened to me and a friend recently when we started our morning by attending a Feldenkris class in the hamlet of Bovina in Delaware County. This class was our first joy as we were using movement to better our minds and bodies.  As the name implies, Bovina still has cows and farms and is in a beautiful valley that winds through and over part of the Catskill mountains. It is a close-knit community as many of our hamlets and villages in the Catskills are. This past weekend was the AMR Open Studios Tour of over 60 area artists in the area.  As we happened to be in Bovina, we visited some of them hidden away and discovered much more.  Not only were the locations of the studios situated in surprising places but the views were jaw dropping and an artist’s delight. Engaging in conversation with the artists only added to the enjoyment of the discoveries.

In the hamlet of Bovina Center is a historical building called Russell’s Store.  It’s history dates back to the 1800’s. It was the center of Bovina for years having been the general store, the only gas pump (now defunct but still standing), and general meeting place.  In January of 2002, the property was deeded to the Bovina Historical Society so that it would not be privately sold and kept as Russell’s Store. In June of 2022, Ellen Stewart started running the historic store and is responsible for the delicious morning and noon sandwiches. The store is popular with tradesmen, tourists who have read about it online and locals as it is also a community gathering place. And, you can also still buy groceries there.

The house next door was the home of the Russell’s for 70 years and is now owned privately, bought by the owner to “save” it and lived in by the owner’s mother.  This information was provided by the mother as she stopped to chat with us as we ate the overstuffed sandwiches at the picnic table in front of Russell’s. This was the second part of the joy of finding your neighborhood that day.  After our informative chat with her, we encountered another unexpected joy when a couple pulled up for sandwiches. As we were trying to get a photo of us and the store, she offered to take it.  As our conversation continued, we found out that the barn in the picture that we had just visited had originally belonged to them and was sold to the artist who had her paintings in the barn.  Again, the joy of the neighborhood!

As we rode home over the narrow mountain road past mountain scenery we had seen in some of the paintings and a deer sighting, we had smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts for the morning that had unfolded before us.  Find the joy in your neighborhood as often as you can

Russell’s Store is open 7:00-4:00 Monday-Saturday and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday.