AboutTown

With this issue of About Town, we are well into our 30th year of publication. Last issue we honored some of the business with whom we have been proud to associate over the decades. Here we highlight more area businesses that have proven their value to their customers and clients —they are “time-tested” as well as honored.

Seakill Custom Homes, founded by brothers George and Ricky Sifri in 1974, can take your dreams and make them not just real, but function in the real world. Drive anywhere in Ulster County and you are sure to pass distinctive homes built by this duo. Homes that are a pleasure to look at and, according to owners, a pleasure to live in, and were also (surprise!) a pleasure to build. The Sifri family supports many local and national charities, and many family members serve on local not-for-profit boards. The Sifri family raises significant amounts of money for the Make A Wish Foundation, among others. The have been with About Town for 18 years.

A welcoming bed and breakfast, Audrey’s Farm House B&B is also a fabulous venue for a wedding or other important celebrations. Audrey has been spoiling guests for 28 years in her elegant 1740 stone home. She and her experienced staff will think of every detail—for a simple romantic weekend, or the most important day of your lives together. Audrey has been with About Town for over 26 years.

Jack The Stripper, a furniture refinishing business has fixed and beautified items for me and many of my friends. His knowledge of wood and its needs keep his following loyal. Jack has been with us for over ten years.

For three decades Handmade and More has graced these pages. Consistently scouting out meaningful gifts, style-setting clothing, educational toys, delicious jewelry, and objects of delight. It is everyone’s dream to see the Handmade logo on a gift box. The owners have kept the tradition of things “hand made.” The staff is helpful and caring. We love to shop there.

Jingle Bell Bed and Breakfast did relocate once in the 21 years Julie Christie has been with About Town. She moved from one spectacular location to an even more wonderful place—rustic, rural, and resoundingly comfortable. It hits just the right note (Julie was a jingle singer for radio and television).

Many of the advertisers in About Town are also the people I have called upon for decades to solve my home repair problems. Rosalie and Ken Hasbrouck of Allied Locksmiths fit that bill for sure. Locked in, locked out, lost key, sticky lock. Most importantly, they understand it isn’t locks we care about—it’s our family’s safety.

Wallkill View Market is not only a wonderful source of farm pro- duce, flowers, gifts and garden supplies, it is a visual delight right up until Christmas Eve when it usually closes until Spring. A three-genera- tion family run business that was green long before most of us! Wallkill View is one of our thirty-year stars.

Although I’ve never met her face to face, Karen Juckas of Juckas Stables and I have been talking on

the phone for over twenty years—ever since she first called about advertising. Juckas Stables is one of the oldest businesses in the area. Karen has run it for forty-eight years and keeps adding new things to delight the horseback riders and campers who come to her stables.

This is the second “Time Honored” thank you we have published. I have loved every minute of the thirty years of publishing About Town because of these and all the other business owners who do so much to make our lives more comfortable, sweeter, or more delicious.