Going through my past journal writings to see what may be of interest to Millbrook Memories, and came across this one and my reflections of my dad having open-heart surgery and all the emotions that it had brought into my family’s life.
However, when you read it you will see this word called Reiki that I do on my father.
So for those that may not be familiar with it, it is a spiritual healing art that helps in balancing our energy bodies, which we have 4 of them, spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical, so in that healing can be achieved.
Some may know this, while other’s may not, that I began my Reiki Journey back in March 2006 and continued through the completion of becoming a Reiki Master/Teacher in October of that year, too!
I have taught many students throughout the years, and will continue to do so whenever there is a student or students that have a desire to learn it, too!
Love sharing my Reiki!
But for the most part, I have used it for myself and the calming of my anxiety that it’s spiritual comfort has given me throughout these past 11 years!
So when my dad had this very intense open-heart surgery it was such a blessing to me to have it to use on myself, on my mother and of course on the patient himself, my father!
And as I post the updates on his surgery you will see that word quite a bit I must tell you too!
At times like this when dad was going through this open-heart surgery and the months of rehab after, it was a blessing to have my reiki and all the support of the many friends and family members that came to visit him during that time, too!
I will be continuing on with this very important event in our family’s life tomorrow, too!
Blessings to all!
John Kading Open Heart Surgery January 2011
January 25, 2011
It’s a bit after one in the afternoon and I am sitting in the cardiothoracic waiting room at Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York.
My dad went into surgery about 9 am this morning and they’ve told us that it’ll be around seven tonight until he may be done.
I am thinking it’ll be around four or five, but we will see.
I did reiki on him yesterday afternoon while he lay down on his bed and did as much as I could this morning before he left to go to the operating room.
I am feeling that everything will be fine.
I have asked my guides to watch over him and to let him know that he is not alone and that the Reiki energy is within him and ready to be enhanced if need be.
Tonight, January 19, 2006, my father will be doing a slide presentation at Lyall Memorial Federated Church, which is our family’s church.
My father has all his life had a passion for his pictures, and he will tonight be able to share that passion with an audience.
I can remember all through my life vividly the flashing of that flash or the distinct clicking sound of a picture being taken by him.
Now, after all these years, of his dedication in capturing the many images of his life experiences in his hometown in and around the small village of Millbrook, New York, he will be able to share his precious pictures and slide collection.
John Kading of Millbrook, New York always had his camera with him
My father has always throughout his life had a camera with him, or should I say, attached to him.
It was like he had a magical way, to be able to take at a moment notice any event that was worthy to have that everlasting snapshot added to his precious collection.
Organize!
( Update! Remember this was 12 years ago!)
He is now in the process of organizing those thousands and thousands of pictures throughout his life!
Recently he has somehow become focused and consumed to get this overwhelming project accomplished at this time in his life.
If you really got to know my father, you’d realize that his attention span is very short, so for him to finally crack down in organizing his many images into some kind of order is truly a huge accomplishment!
Does Procrastination get inherited?
I guess that’s where I must get my bad habits from about procrastinating!
Thanks, Dad! It must have been passed down in the gene pool to me in avoiding tasks that just hasn’t caught my attention to complete, yet.
It usually takes something or someone to crack the wipe for me to get certain things done in my life that I really should!
Marilyn Kading of Millbrook, New York
Note: with my mother’s passing on November 18, 2016, that was the cracking of the wipe, I believe!
Through the years when I worked at the store with my father and I needed him to help me finish a particular project, that the high pitch sound of the fire siren would always seem to go off, and therefore so would he be rushing off to wherever that call would be, too!
And in addition to that high pitch sound of the fire siren, there would be the call from the Millbrook ambulance squad as well, that would turn him into the Super Man and Hero for many throughout the years he was actively involved.
Corner News Store on Franklin Avenue in Millbrook, New York
So all it took was a phone call from the Millbrook Ambulance answering service (Remember, there was not a simple calling to 911 back then!) that would call my father and off he would go to rescue someone, which left me to rescue that project and complete on my own!
John Kading, Gets Abducted by Aliens
It never failed to amaze me with how he would get out of doing something by having to do something else.
I had grown up thinking that he had to be the best juggler in the world to do all the things he did in a day’s time.
I would watch him in the morning, to take his daily walk to the Millbrook Diner to have the breakfast of his usual coffee, eggs, sunny-side up and toast, then he’d return to the store to do the bank deposits and another trip down Franklin Avenue to the Bank of Millbrook.
There were many times that I was sure he went to the North Pole or maybe even got abducted by aliens because he took so long to come back from either the Millbrook Diner or from the Bank of Millbrook!
However, he always managed to find his way back again at some time or another during the day.
But Mom, Shirley and I, or whoever has on duty, always seemed to manage his business pretty well, while he was off gallivanting, as my mother had called it many, many times!
He would return and we would say, “John, where were you?”
With his reply always pretty much the same over and over again, “Oh, I just ran into so and so and…” (Yep! that’s my dad!)
It never failed to surprise me in how my father could divert his attention to something or someone else instead of what he was supposed to be doing.
I have to confess to while growing up there were those times when I admit to having passionately despised that fire whistle and those phone calls from that answering service because it meant that my father would have his ‘pass’ to be excused from our project!
Therefore, it meant that I would again have to finish what we had started, and had quite obviously mistakenly thought that we would be able to finish it together!
Which was a mistake on my part to ever have imagined that miracle to happen when he had arranged a never-fail system with God himself in finding ways to be legally excused?
I think he had some kind of magical power to relieve himself of any such projects that he felt me, or someone else could do.
TALK! TALK! TALK!
But there was sure one thing he could do really well and that was to “TALK”!
And let me tell you, he managed really well in accomplishing a lot of that, too!
John Kading of Millbrook, New York loved his sheep!
Nonetheless, in between all the talking, he did manage to get a lot of other things done as we
He was involved in so many organizations as well, from
The Millbrook Business Organization,
Millbrook Lions Club,
Millbrook Rotary Club,
VFW,
and of course, I can not forget his years of sharing his love of his sheep
and being a leader of Southern Shepherd’s 4H Club!
Finally, today I have come to realize that it was over those thousands of cups of coffee at the Millbrook Diner and “talking” with all those thousands of people, that had brought so much joy and happiness to my father’s life!
Millbrook Diner on Franklin Avenue in Millbrook, New York
So today all those thousands of faces and images that had been captured with a snapshot from the camera that belonged to a man by the name of John Kading, my father, will be forever protected and cherished for years to come on this website www.MillbrookMemories.com!
Enjoy the Images of Years Past
I am hoping and praying that all in attendance at tonight’s presentation will enjoy all those images of people and places of long ago of his beloved village of Millbrook, New York.
(Note: The room was full of Millbrook Lovers, and everyone did enjoy the images and the stories connected with them, too!)
I hope that the audience will appreciate his dedication and devotion to have documented all these images throughout the years and all the changes and improvements that have occurred around the Village of Millbrook and Town of Washington, as well!
I hope that my father will be looked upon and respected as an authority on his town’s history in the years to come.
SharIng the Images- Brings JOY
John Kading loved having his coffee at The Millbrook Diner on Franklin Avenue in Millbrook, New York
Maybe it is to have him share these images throughout the area that will give him that sense of joy and happiness in his life just like it had by talking to all those people over all those cups of coffee at the Millbrook Diner had done throughout the years, as well!
Yes, indeed life’s all about “sharing” with others in our lives, and it is with our choice of “sharing” that we are blessed in our lives, too!
So with that, may I introduce to you, my father, John Kading and his precious gift of these images of the days of yesterday in and around the small village known as Millbrook, New York!
Please share your Millbrook Memories in the comments too!
And Don’t Forget to Join The Millbrook Memories Newsletter to get all the updates that will be coming in the months to come too!
Reflections of Millbrook, New York with John Kading
John and Marilyn Kading on August 1, 2015, that was taken at Charlotte’s in Millbrook, New York
This is a website that is being created from my heart and soul to honour my parents, John and Marilyn Kading.
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My mother passed on November 18, 2016, and it has motivated me to create this website called Millbrook Memories to share with the world!
Marilyn Kading
Marilyn Kading 1933 – 2016
Millbrook – Marilyn J. Kading, 83, of Clinton Corners, NY, died Friday evening, November 18, 2016, surrounded by family who loved her. Born Marilyn J. Mull, in Toledo, Ohio on July 30, 1933, she was the daughter of Ralph and Dorothy Mull.
Marilyn married John E. Kading of Millbrook on March 26, 1955, they were married 61 short years. Together Marilyn and John owned and operated the Corner News Store in Millbrook for over 50 years. There at the Corner News, her love for the Village of Millbrook and friends met along the way grew every day for those 50 years. In 1965, John and Marilyn moved to Mabbettsville to the home of her dreams (and the farm of his dreams). Marilyn and John raised their four children on the farm in Mabbettsville. Surrounded by the love of her family and friends she would entertain on her deck and would love to watch the cars and people pass by.
Marilyn and John sold the Corner News Store in 1999 and retired to the farm in Mabbettsville where she enjoyed her grandchildren. In 2006, they sold the farm and moved to a smaller house in Clinton Corners, but her heart and love always stayed in Millbrook. In 1998, she lost her youngest daughter Debbie to cancer but now are united together again in heaven.
Marilyn is survived by her husband of 61 years, John E. Kading, her children Diane (and Gerry) Schoessow, John (and Jennifer) Kading, Donald (and Michelle) Kading, her grandchildren, Jessica (and Peter) Cedeno, David Brownell, Ashley and Kyle Schoessow, Kaylee Kading, Elizabeth (and Dominic) Bucci, John Kading III, Christina Kading, Michael Kading, Stephen Kading, and her great grandchildren, Joshua, Jasmyn, Riley, Nathan, Eden, and her nieces and nephews, Thomas, Judy, James, Pam, Carol, Michael, John and Suzie. Previously deceased and waiting to greet her with open arms in heaven are her parents Ralph and Dorothy Mull, her beloved daughter Debbie, her sisters Alice and Elaine, her brothers James and Howard, and her niece Lou Ann.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, November 23rd, at Lyall Memorial Federated Church, 30 Maple Avenue, Millbrook, NY at 11:00 am, immediately followed by a cemetery service at Nine Partners Cemetery in Millbrook, followed by a memorial tribute back at Lyall Federated Church. In lieu of flowers donations to the Millbrook Historical Society, 35 Merritt Ave, Millbrook, will be accepted.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Allen Funeral Home, Millbrook. For condolences, please visit www.HudsonValleyFuneralHomes.com
Published in the Poughkeepsie Journal from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23, 2016
The Corner News Store in Millbrook, New York during the ownership of John Kading
Please come and browse through the memories of Millbrook, New York and the legacy of John and Marilyn Kading and their very much missed Corner News Store that had been the “heartbeat’ in the Village of Millbrook for 54 years!
Please be my guest as you stroll down memory lane through the many decades of my father’s lifetime of pictures!
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John Kading of Millbrook, New York with his video cameraBox of Pictures
Hi!
I am, Diane Kading Schoessow, the oldest daughter of John and Marilyn Kading, and the creator of this site Millbrook Memories!
I started working at The Corner News Store when I was around 10.
I would do whatever odd jobs I could do at my age.
I can remember reuniting lost envelopes to their matching greeting cards, to give you an idea of the kind of work I could do at 10!
I worked after school and summer vacations, starting at 25 Cents an hour, and remember how thrilled I was to have worked for 4 hours to be able to buy “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees one summer, too!
I graduated in 1974 from Millbrook High School and went on to Dutchess Community College to study Retail Business Management, thinking that I would continue the family’s business.
I graduated with an Associate Degree and tried to integrate what I had learned in college at The Corner News, but my boss-my father-had his way of doing business and I would need to accept that!
So with that same entrepreneurial spirit running through my brain- that my dad had passed onto me- I became interested in Network Marketing and joined quite a few of them throughout my life.
Always looking for the Right one to satisfy my itch!
Finding Love
But then I fell in love, with my Prince!
Which followed with a Beautiful Wedding!
Which then followed in the building our dream home, with the help of many family and friends!
That was followed by our most cherished creation of all with the birth of our two children, our daughter, Ashley and our son, Kyle!
Life was good!
A Normal Life?
Did I have a normal life growing up in Millbrook, New York?
A small village where everyone seemed to know everyone!
But it is also what makes it so Special too!
I grew up in this womb with witnessing this connection that I had a front row centre seat to watching as I worked at The Corner News Store!
It was heartwarming to grow up experiencing this bond!
And I believe we will never ever lose that bond either!
We all have our Millbrook Memories and that’s what I want to share with this site!
Our connection to those cherished Millbrook Memories!
But there’s more to it then the pictures and stories of Millbrook, New York!
With the entrepreneur spirit passed down from my father, I have wanted to have my own online business that I could do during my retirement years.
On my 61st Birthday, June 23, 2017, I joined Wealthy Affiliate 7-day FREE trial, which gave me the way to test it out if it would work for me.
I finished their training in that week and was confident that it was the Real Deal in just what I needed to create this website www.MillbrookMemories.com!
This would be the way I could finally share my father’s lifetime of pictures of Millbrook to the world!
This was the way I could create a “Forever Gift” to my parents and to my family that would last for years!
At last, I had created a HOME for my father’s pictures where anyone around the world could come and browse through the posts and remember their own Millbrook Memories, too!
But Wait’s There’s More
As I continued to research this area of sharing family pictures and their memories, I was overjoyed to see that many are interested in this same thing too!
I am in the baby boom generation and we all are concerned about our parents and older relatives picture and memory collections!
We are a movement going on in the background trying to save our family’s pictures before a disaster may forever take them away from not only us but our future generations too!
“Just Do It!’
It’s time to take action to do what will preserve and protect them for years!
We are the Memory Keepers of the family and we all need to take the role seriously now more than ever before!
Our family history is important and all those pictures in a shoe box in your closet or God forbid your basement, need to be cared for correctly NOW!
Diane Kading Schoessow Profile PictureGerry and Diane Schoessow’s with daughter, Ashley and son, Kyle in Portland, Maine in September 2017
Here’s a picture of my family.
My Husband Gerry, my daughter, Ashley and son, Kyle!
The Children of John and Marilyn Kading of Millbrook, New York Diane, Johnny, Debbie and Donald
That’s me on the right, then Donald, Johnny, and Debbie, who passed on June 28, 1998.
We all are a wee bit older, but thought I’d post this to all that remember us looking like this!
Looking East up Franklin Avenue of Millbrook, New York
So this is for all the Millbrook Lovers around the world and my hope is that this site will bring joy into your lives!
If you ever have any questions, please feel free to email me at Diane@MillbrookMemories.com and I will be more than happy to answer them.
And if you don’t want to miss the updates on what’s happening here on Millbrook Memories then please sign up for the future Millbrook Memories Newsletter that I plan on creating real soon!
I am going to start with first a BIG thank you for finding this site and hope you will enjoy the content and the images that will follow through the years.
Enjoy and share.
Bennett College
Bennett College in Millbrook, New York when it was Beautiful
Bennett College in Millbrook, NY is a very sad sight for any eyes to see today.
Bennet College 2017
From a thriving school for girls to going co-ed in my lifetime, to see it now is heartbreaking.
Bennett College Band Competition in Millbrook, New York
I am quite sure that there are many like me that can still see the images of the various colours of the uniforms of the competitions of the Marching Bands on that once beautiful green lawn, too.
My hope is this image of that will bring a joy to many when they see it too.
Please share this website www.millbrookmemories.com to all that may bring a joy into their lives too!
Here’s the link to sign up for the Millbrook Memories Newsletter:
My dad, John Kading, owned the Corner News Store since 1947 and would deliver the Sunday newspaper’s to Bennett College for years, and I can remember being around maybe 7 or 8 going with him many of those Sundays to help him.
I remember in how I was always in awe of the beauty of the architecture that surrounded Bennett College and breaks many hearts in having to witness the neglect over the years since its closure.
Fireworks and American Flag
And I always looked forward to the July 4th celebration’s that would bring so much excitement to our small village of Millbrook!
The parade with all the local Fire Companies trying to stay all in step to win that trophy they could bring back to proudly place in their showcase at their firehouse!
And to hear each of the matching bands play their particular song loudly as they marched down Franklin Avenue!
How exciting it was to have always a front row seat and one of the best seats to see the parades on the roof of The Corner News Store or right in the front sitting on the curb!
American Flags
It was also a concern if The Corner News Store had ordered enough American flags for all that had wanted to buy them during this big event in our small village of Millbrook, too.
Making sure there were enough red, white and blue party papers for the celebration that many would count on to buy, too.
I have wonderful memories at this time of year, as I am sure many do as well.
We were all so lucky to have had the life growing up in Millbrook and I will always be so grateful for that gift too.
The Corner News Store
What I learned from living in Millbrook is that my parents knew everyone, and many by name and their family’s history too.
And fortunately for me, I had been blessed to have the front row seat to experience my life growing up in Millbrook, as being the firstborn and the daughter of John and Marilyn Kading, and owners of The Corner News Store in the heart of Millbrook, New York.
I learned quickly what that fire siren meant and how I would watch my dad drop everything to go running up the street!
Or when the phone would ring (you know that one we all had with a cord attached to it!), from the Millbrook Ambulance dispatcher that there was an accident or someone in need of its services!
Oh, the life I lived being the daughter of John and Marilyn Kading, and the best job in the whole world, working at The Corner News Store and having my Dad as my boss!
Millbrook Ambulance with Diane and Donald Kading in from of The Corner News Store in Millbrook, New York
I watched in how something could happen to a local family and Millbrook would come together to help.
And I watched in how something wonderful would happen to a local family and it was shared quickly with joy for them too!
The Corner News Store was the place to come to ask anything Millbrook related and sometimes beyond, too.
The Corner News Store during its 52 years was like Google is to the internet too!
Just stop in and ask a question and someone there would know the answer for it!
Marilyn Kading at The Corner News Store in Millbrook, New York
My Mother, Marilyn Kading
As my family come upon the first year of my mother’s passing which was on November 18, 2016, I hope to share with you some memories of her too. After all, my intention is to make this as a Forever Gift
My mother, Marilyn Kading, would be sitting on her stool, but to me, it would become more like her throne, for she became the Queen of all Millbrook news, and all Enquirer news as well.
Marilyn Kading at The Corner News Store in Millbrook, New York
She could be pretty accurate in predicting the sexes of pregnant women too! Many reading this may have even been one of her accurate predictions too! Please comment if you were one of the lucky ones!
And I can’t forget her love for those beloved Lotto numbers, and the thrill she got when one of her daily lottery customers actually won!
I hope many of you reading this one, will smile for that memory of your own winnings and my mother’s excitement for you when you came in to get your monies!
Thank you for all your cards of sympathy
My family would like to thank all that attended her services, that was the day before Thanksgiving last year, too.
As many of you that knew my mother, she never wanted any spotlight and attention,( Dad got that!) so I found it amusing that she got that because of the day before that major holiday of Thanksgiving!
I thank all that brought so much joy to her in her life too! Thank you!
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Please Comment
There are so many Millbrook Memories for all of us to share with each other, and just hope and pray that all that find themselves here on this site will browse through all the images that I will be posting in the future.
And let me be perfectly clear there will be lots of images from my father’s collection, believe me!
I just wanted to thank everyone that came to the Millbrook Historical Society’s meeting on November 16, 2017, for “A Fireside Chat with the Kading’s.”
It was wonderful to see everyone and announce the creation of this website www.MillbrookMemories.com!
Millbrook, New York will always be HOME to so many of us and it gives me such joy to be able to share my father’s lifetime of pictures on this site and the Facebook Millbrook Memories page too
It warms my heart to see the LOVE that this community has shown to the Kading family over the years!
Ernest and Charlotte Kading’s Family- John, Helen and Henry Kading of Millbrook, New York
This is my grandfather Ernest Kading and my grandmother Charlotte Kading with my Aunt Helen Doland on the left and my Uncle Henry sitting on his mother’s lap and my dad on the right!
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Thank you
I just want to say a BIG Thank You to all that have liked, commented or shared the FaceBook Page Millbrook Memories!
On behalf of my father, John Kading and myself, Diane Kading Schoessow!
Bank of Millbrook in Millbrook, New York decorated for Christmas.Thank you
I just have to say that I am so touched by the response from this website and the Facebook page by all that have shown their love and their likes in what I am doing to share my dad’s images of Millbrook, New York!
I just have to say to all in how great it makes me feel to show my father all your comments and the likes and hearts of love on the Facebook page, too!
I am so very grateful to all of you for the support that many of you have shown since I created the Facebook page on November 16, 2017.
The website is coming along and I am trying to write posts that all of you will enjoy and to all those that will enjoy in the future since my hope and prayer is to have this become a Forever Gift to my parents.
I am still learning and it is sometimes frustrating to not know how to do this or that as I build this website, but I am committed to get this done and to teach myself as I do!
And for those that know my father, I must keep in mind in how he really didn’t know how to do this or when he opened The Corner News Store either, yet he continued anyway!
I am determined to continue with this website too, and share my father’s pictures and share the stories that go along with them too!
This is HOW I am going to do that with the Flip-Pal!
The Corner News Store in Millbrook, New York at ChristmasThe Corner News Store in Millbrook, New York
He built that small store to the one that many of you reading this remember coming with your parents or grandparents after church, or when you came to Millbrook for a visit.
The children of John and Marilyn Kading of Millbrook, New York Diane, John, Debbie and Donald Kading
Many may be reading this right now that had gone to Millbrook Central School and even been my classmate or to one of my siblings, either Johnny, Debbie or Donald.
Love of Family
Welcome, and my hope is to have you come back to enjoy my father’s images of Millbrook and his stories through the years of his lifetime!
And for those that were not able to attend the Millbrook Historical Society’s November meeting to where Dad, Aunt Helen and Uncle Henry were all interviewed about growing up in Millbrook and it was so great to see all that attended and here is the video for those that could not be there! Enjoy!
I wanted to begin sharing what my Aunt Helen made and gave to my dad for his 80th Birthday present, which was on May 28. 2008!
Here’s the story about the North Breeze Sheep Sign that was stolen and returned back to it’s true owner by a Angel and what I have referred to as The Millbrook Miracle! Enjoy!
Millbrook Round Table of Millbrook, New York Article on North Breeze Farm Sign Found More Clue
I realize that my dear Aunt Helen sometimes is hard to hear for some of you, so I decided to use this post to type what she had read out loud at that event.
I am so blessed to have her as my Aunt Helen and the one in our family that has taken the time to organize so many newspaper clippings, etc. into the many scrapbooks she has created throughout her lifetime, too!
I hope and pray that in the coming years I will successfully scan this treasure of her many scrapbooks of our Kading family, too. Stay tuned for further posts on them when I get to them in the future months, too!
When I browsed quickly through them a few months ago I was almost in tears to see all the newspaper clippings of my father, which were many, throughout his life with not only The Corner News Store but with all the other organizations he had been so involved with too.
John Kading, my father, had his favourite though and that was the Millbrook Rotary!
John Kading of Millbrook, New York was active with the VFW
And of course, his other LOVE was his sheep and being the leader of Southern Shepherds 4-H Club that my Aunt Helen has all the newspaper clippings about that, too!
Just one of the Horned Dorset Rams of John Kading of Millbrook, New York
And with my brother, Donald sheering sheep somewhere in the area that made the paper, too!
Donald Kading of Millbrook, New York shearing sheep.
Just simply priceless to me!
She has this treasure in her closet that is just waiting for me or someone to perform the act of scanning them so they would be able to be forever protected and shared around the world!
My Aunt Helen’s family taken at our Year 2000 Kading Family Reunion!
This was the invitation to the Kading’s Family Reunion in the year 2000 that was held at The Town of Washington Pool in Millbrook, New YorkHelen Russell Doland’s family taken at the Family Reunion at The Town of Washington Pool in 2000
And of course, it was her organizing skills that made it all happen!
Always grateful for my Aunt Helen, too!
Helen Russell Doland of Millbrook, New York walking to work at The Corner News Store
If you are interested in staying up-to-date with this website Millbrook Memories and would love to have any new posts or new events to be sent directly to your email then please sign up for the upcoming newsletters below!
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I welcome all to our journey together on this site called Millbrook Memories!
Enjoy!
Here’s what my Aunt Helen read at the Millbrook Historical Society Meeting on November 16, 2017:
Helen Russell Doland of Millbrook, New York
My name is Helen Kading Russell Doland We moved to Millbrook in April 1933.
John was 5, I was 3 years old.
I started Kindergarten in 1935 and graduated High School in June 1948.
In 1949 I went to Krissler Business School in Poughkeepsie.
After finishing at Krissler, I worked as a typist at Standard Gage Company.
In 1950 my brother, John left for the service. I left Standard Gage Company to manage John’s store, The Corner News Store. I was the store manager from 1950-1952.
Jim and Helen Russell’s Wedding
I married my first husband, Jim Russell, June 27, 1954. We had 3 boys-Bob, Tom and Jay.
The boys were always active in sports.
Bob was on the Millbrook Swim Team, Tom and Jay both were on the Millbrook High School Basketball team as well as the Little League teams.
Jim passed away on March 30, 1977, at the age of 52 due to Lung Cancer.
We were married 22 years.
In 1966, I was appointed as the Millbrook Village Clerk by Mayor George Gerth. I resigned the position in 1968 to take a position at the Millbrook Post Office. I was the distribution, window clerk, and post office administrator.
I retired in April 1990 after serving for 22 years.
I then volunteered the next 6 years for helping with the bulk mailing at the American Cancer Society.
I was a 33-year member of the Washington Grange #878.
It was disbanded in September 1981.
The Washington Grange was a fixture of Millbrook for 82 years.
I was the last Master or President.
I then transferred to the Pleasant Valley Grange #838, where I have now been a member there for 32 years.
In 2016, Henry and I were honoured in receiving our 65 years Signifying my dedication to the Grange.
Why have we stayed in Grange so long? Friendship. When you go to any Grange meeting you are made welcome, as the saying goes, you are a stranger only once.
Walter and Helen Doland
I married my second husband, Walter Doland, May 3, 1980. After 38 years of marriage, he died of congestive heart disease June 15, 2013. Walter was my rock during one of the most difficult times of my life.
In 1986, my grandson, Daniel was diagnosed with Leukemia.
He was just 18 months old at the time.
In 1987 he underwent a bone marrow transplant at Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York.
His 7-month-old sister, Erin, was a perfect match. The estimated cost was between $50,000-$150,000. Stanford Grange set up a trust fund for my grandson to help his family pay for some of this cost. There were also 22 community groups and organizations from Millbrook and Stanford rallied together to help. At one point the trust fund had collected $37,000.
The operation was a success with our prayers and the knowledge of the doctors.
After Daniel’s illness, our family decided we wanted to give back to those who helped us.
The Russell family participated in the American Cancer Society’s Walk-a-Thon from 1992-1994 raising over $1500 for cancer research.
Each year we received a plaque for the family that raised the most money.
I have 8 Grandchildren-Dan, Erin, Jimmy, Matt, Mellissa, Zach, Pat and Megan and 3 Great Grandchildren-Corbin, Melody, and Logan.
The Corner News Store in Millbrook, New York at Christmas
Remembering The Holiday’s in Millbrook, New York
Remembering this time of year when the village of Millbrook, New York would decorate for the Holiday season!
This is the old Corner News Store that many may remember and many have just heard the stories that this business had in the life of the Village.
Its customers were from all around the world from the students of Bennett College and before that when it had the name Bennett School of Girls.
Millbrook School for Boys in which that was called before it went co-ed and turned into Millbrook School, and who can’t say they don’t enjoy the Trevor Zoo that they have created throughout the years?
Then it had those that worked for the Cary Arboretum, which is now The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, which is world renown for its work.
We also hadInnisfree Garden that bring tourist into our area when it opened for its season, too!
And I can’t forget Millbrook Winerywith all the locals and tourists coming to have the taste of their fine wines!
So many great Millbrook Memories!
Growing up as the Oldest
The John and Marilyn Kading Children, Diane, Johnny, Debbie, Donald and our dog Princess
Boy, do I remember this time of year when I was growing up as the first child of John and Marilyn Kading, owners of The Corner News Store on Franklin Avenue in Millbrook, New York!
I loved this time of year when I would get to see so many people coming into the store to pick up those necessary items on their lists!
It was also a time when I would get to work later in the evening and on Sunday afternoons with dad, too.
In other words, I would get my father all to myself, and I’d get to see him do what he loved to do!
So it was so much fun for me to work those weekday nights and those Sunday afternoons doing those kinds of things that I loved to do, while dad took the post at the cash register. (He’d usually let mom have those Sunday afternoons off!)
John Kading of Millbrook, New York with his daughter, Diane Kading
Screams of Joy
There was always so much to get done on my ‘To do’ list at this time of year, too, but I loved to check off the completed ones, to find another to add to it again.
But the one thing I can remember very clearly about this time of year growing up is that everyone seemed joyful and excited for the holidays!
Shirley Evert working at The Corner News Store in Millbrook, New York
I remember so many times when I was busy getting that To Do List done around the store when I’d hear my mom or Shirley Evert scream in joy!
Shirley Evert working at The Corner News Store in Millbrook, New York at Christmas time
Then I’d hear, ” It’s so good to see you!
How’s the family?”
And this would continue during this magical time of year when families would return to their hometown during the holidays! Not to say it didn’t happen at other times during the year because it did!
The ‘Google’ of Millbrook
It was always a magical time of year for sure when the family came back home to visit family during the holidays! It was a time when people cared about hearing the stories of people’s lives and they actually listened! (Before cell phones that took our attention away!)
The days of the past when The Corner News Store was the heartbeat of the Village of Millbrook.
Marilyn Kading at The Corner News Store in Millbrook, New York
It was the Google of Millbrook!
You could come in to ask a question and there was a good chance, you’d get the ‘I’m feeling lucky’ answer instantly!
Yes, unfortunately, those days of the past have gone. And since that day years ago, when this Google of Millbrook, The Corner News Store had closed its doors, so much has changed in the Village of Millbrook, too.
Special People Living in a Special Town-Millbrook
However, Millbrook, New York will always have that special place in any one’s heart because of the people that have shared this small little town within your life, too.
Beautiful Picture of St. Joseph Church In Millbrook, NY
Whether these special people were from your church
or from a business such as The Corner News Store, or even the welcome you always get at The Bank of Millbrook!
The important thing is to remember that there was a connection to them that will survive through the many years of your life.
Thank you to all those my family have had that ‘special’ connection with over our lives, too!
Bennett College in Millbrook, New York
The memory of certain people will survive that brutal test of time, many have called it, and yet when that person is mentioned in a conversation with somebody many years later, a story will be remembered about them and the laughs about that event or the sadness of it can be felt again and again, too.
This is what life’s about, isn’t it?
The memories we all have of our childhood growing up in Millbrook, New York is a treasure for all of us, and I want so much to cherish those Millbrook Memories on this website and the Facebook page with the same name too.
Remember this? The Tribute Gardens in Millbrook, New York
Remember to Play and Swing
The Tribute Garden in Millbrook, New York
When some kind of ‘problem’ appears to be written into the script of our lives, I want people to be able to come to this website and take a stroll down memory lane and be comforted by the images or the stories that will be told by me, my father, or my Aunt Helen, or one of the many funny stories from my Uncle Henry for the years to come.
I would want you to take a look at that swing at The Tribute Gardens or on the playground at one of the schools you had once attended, and to close your eyes to remember your childhood, swinging on that swing, and how that ‘problem’ will hopefully lessen in its intensity in your lives too.
In living our years together in our beloved Millbrook, we all share something pretty GRAND I would call it, wouldn’t you?
We share something Grand, indeed and we all have been blessed by having the support of the community in so many things my father had been involved with throughout his lifetime too.
After all it was all of you in the Community of Millbrook and the surrounding areas that had given The Corner News Store its life and supported my family throughout its years, so my “why” is to return that back to creating this website called Millbrook Memories to celebrate all the years we have shared together and to share our stories as well!
Connection with the World
Connection to All in Millbrook
We are living in a time when the connection is so needed in our lives and yet many have been unable to find something that calls to them in their hearts that they would want to reach out to connect.
Well, my hope and prayer for this site is to reach out to all those that have a need to share their Millbrook Memories and just like when someone would welcome you as you came into The Corner News Store, I want to welcome all of you as well in the same way that my parents had done for 52 years in The Corner News!
(And yes, I am my father’s daughter, after all!)
Please Share your Millbrook Memories of the Holidays
The holidays are coming so please share your Millbrook Memories of your past holiday’s in the comments, too.
It’s that magical Millbrook time of year when the Christmas trees sparkle their coloured lights as you drive up or down Franklin Avenue in Millbrook, New York!
We are surely blessed to have our eyes be greeted with such a beautiful site and our hearts filled over the many years this has been done in the Village.
Thanks to all the people that make this happen at this Magical time in the Village of Millbrook possible, too!
We are grateful for it giving us this Magical touch at Christmas time in our beloved Millbrook!
Blessings to the Millbrook Memories we all have together that unites us!
Ernest Kading was born on May 11, 1902, in Blumberg, Germany.
He was the tenth child of Louise and Johann Kading.
Early Schooling
Ernest spent his early childhood in Gumbinnnen attending school at the Gumbinnnen elementary.
He started school when he was 6 years old and continued through school until he was 14 years old.
During those eight years, he learned just the basic educational skills such as a reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Formal Education or Trade Education
As was the custom in Germany at this time after a child completed those eight years of schooling he could either continue with more formal education or develop a trade.
He chooses to learn a trade and decided to become a machinist.
He attended the Vereinigte Maschinenfabriken for a total of three years before he graduated with honours in 1921.
The first two years there was mainly conducted in the classroom working and studying form a number of books.
Last year he worked as an apprentice at the school.
Working After Graduation
After Ernest finished his schooling he worked approximately three years in various machine factories throughout Germany.
In 1924 he got a job at one of Germany’s largest manufacturing plants The Deutsche Weke.
There his job was to go to the customer’s place of business or farm and set up or put together the product they purchased.
Germany Flag
Moving to America
Ernest was laid off from the Deutsche Were in 1925 and after being unemployed for about a half a year decided to move to America.
His sister, Henrietta and brother-in-law, Herman had moved to America a few years earlier and told him of the great opportunities in America.
In order for an immigrant to come over to America, a sponsor had to be able to support the person.
Ernest was sponsored by Herman Ramnitz.
On July 25, 1925, Ernest sailed on a ship to America leaving behind his fiancee Charlotte.
The voyage took about seven days.
There were approximately 200 passengers aboard the ship named Hamburg.
United States of America Flag
Arriving in America
The ship docked in New York City and there Herman was waiting for him.
After passing custom inspection they took the train to Wingdale, New York where Herman owned a small farm.
Ernest worked on Herman’s farm for a year getting little pay mainly his room and board.
Having established himself in the United States he then sent for his fiancee Charlotte Pusch who he became engaged to while still in Germany.
Old Letters
Charlotte Arrives in America
On April 18, 1927, Charlotte arrived in New York City.
As soon as Charlotte arrived Ernest and her were required to get married according to Immigration rules before he could take her off the ship.
Ernest and Charlotte went to the office of the Manhattan City Clerk.
There they were married by J.J. McCormick, Deputy City Clerk of Manhattan, New York with two strangers as witnesses.
Second Wedding
They then went back to Herman’s farm where they lived in one room of Herman’s small farmhouse.
On May 8, 1927, they had another wedding in the Wingdale Methodist Church because they wanted to have a formal church wedding.
Henrietta, Herman and ten other guests attended the wedding.
They stayed at Herman’s place about a year.
With the money Charlotte brought from Germany, they purchased a second-hand car.
First Apartment to First Child
With transportation, they moved out of Wingdale and into an apartment house in Dover Plains, New York in search of work.
Ernest got a job at the Lime Kiln as a machine repairman.
He worked there for five years until the Lime Kiln closed down.
While in Dover Plains they had two children.
John born on May 28, 1928, and Helen on April 15, 1930.
He also applied for United States citizenship which he received on May 13, 1933.
Depression-work?
This being the depression years, work was scarce and Ernest next job was as a bricklayer construction the Harlem Valley State Hospital located in Wingdale, New York.
He only worked there a few months because the work was too strenuous for him.
Thorndale Estate, Millbrook, New York
Ernest heard from a friend about a tractor man job opening in Thorndale Estate in Millbrook, New York.
He inquired and was hired by Mr. Oakleigh Thorne in April of 1933.
Thorndale at this time was making the transition from horsepower to the tractor and other machinery to do the farm work.
So it was necessary that they hire someone with the knowledge of machinery.
The 1000 acre Thorndale Estate was split up into three sections; the garden, the farm, and the stable.
The formal gardens were managed by Mrs. Oakleigh Thorne and were considered to be one of the loveliest in the country.
She planned and planted these in the early 20th century and they have since matured and continue to enhance the beauty of their classic 1839 42 room mansion.
Employed at the gardens were twenty-one workers.
The cattle farm was managed by Mr. Oakleigh Thorne and it raised and bred high-quality black Aberdeen Angus cattle imported from Scotland.
There were eighteen employed in this branch of Thorndale.
The third section of Thorndale was the horse stables which was run by Mrs. Margaret Thorne Marshall on of the Thorne’s daughters.
Here they employed three stable men who cared for 20 to 30 standardbred racehorses.
Also employed on Thorndale at this time were two chauffeurs and maids in the big house.
Ernest work day started at 7 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m.
His job consisted of feeding and caring for the cattle, planting and harvesting the crops.
He also was in charge of repairing the different farm machinery and making sure it was in running order.
Ernest got paid $65 a month; plus his house and two quarts of milk.
The reason he got two quarts was that at this time he had two children and he got a quart for every child.
Birth of 3rd Child
On May 3, 1934, his third child Henry was born.
He then got three quarts of milk a day.
Although Charlotte had to take care of the young children she too worked.
She fed three meals a day to three men who worked in the stables.
For this, she received $120 a month.
A Cow, Garden, Rabbits and Chickens
Years later they purchased their own cow with money they borrowed from Mr. Thorne.
Whenever Ernest was busy, the job of milking the cow was done by Charlotte or the kids.
They also had their own garden where they grew vegetables for table use and canning.
The children raised rabbits and chickens and sold the eggs to make a little money for themselves.
John the oldest son also worked on Thorndale when he was around 12 years old.
His salary for working during his summer vacation was a $25 savings bond.
Cash or Credit?
Ernest was the type of the who didn’t believe in credit.
If he couldn’t pay cash for something he usually went without it.
Although when it came to groceries he was forced to use a charge account.
He charged the groceries all month and paid for them on the first of the month when he got paid.
Usually, by the time they paid the bill for last month, there would be very little left for this month so they usually charged food all over again.
Charlotte’s Sewing Machine
When Charlotte lived in Germany she worked as an apprentice for a tailor to learn her trade.
When she came to America she put her talents to work with her sewing machine which she bought soon after arriving here.
The first thing she made was a pair of pants and a jacket for her husband.
She also made all of the children’s clothes because they couldn’t afford to buy them.
A Social Life?
The Kading’s had a very limited social life.
Charlotte rarely went out except to church on Sunday with the rest of the family.
On Saturday evenings Ernest would go with his German friends to Poughkeepsie to socialize and play cards with friends located there.
Sometimes the kids would go along and window shop on Main Street while waiting for their father.
German Spies
During the years of the World War 11, German people were carefully watched in fear that they could possibly be spies.
One day some FBI agents visited Thorndale to check the German people living there.
It just so happened that when they checked the Kading house they found a short-wave radio and a camera.
The agent threatened to smash the camera and take Charlotte to jail.
But Ernest convinced them that the camera belonged to his, John and that his wife, Charlotte was not a healthy woman.
So in fear that she would be more of a burden to them they did not take her away.
Leaving Thorndale
In 1965 Ernest left his position of Farm Superintendent on Thorndale because he was getting old and worried about receiving enough Social Security benefits when he became eligible.
His salary on Thorndale was $325 a month.
He then moved to an apartment on top of his son’s store, The Corner News Store and was located on Franklin Avenue, Millbrook, New York.
New Job
He then got a job as a janitor at Millbrook Central School.
He worked there for two years until his retirement on February 13, 1967.
After his retirement, he kept busy doing odd jobs such as school crossing guard, helping John at the store, and helping Henry at the Eberhard farm in Verbank, New York.
Massive Heart Attack
Ernest died while working at the age of 68 on August 14, 1970, of a massive heart attack.
This seems quite an appropriate way since he worked hard all his life and it wouldn’t seem fitting for him to have died any other way.
He left behind his wife, Charlotte, three children, John, Helen, Henry and eleven grandchildren which he was extremely fond of.
This was the portrait of my grandfather, Ernest Kading.
