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Support a local writer, artist or non-profit this holiday season

MILFORD, PA — Safe Haven is offering for sale one-of-a-kind necklaces handcrafted by Bill Cochran of Art by the Lake this holiday season. They feature a double-sided print of the 2008 Paint Pike Purple Logo originally made by Joann Wells Greenbaum, and cost $20 each.

Safe Haven Necklace

The “It Takes A Community” necklace is made from hand-cut glass. It has a zinc frame with frame-cut corners and is lead-free. Each necklace is hand built, including the connector and clasp and comes in an organza cloth gift pouch. The pendant is approximately one inch by one inch and is 5/16 of an inch thick.

Necklaces may be purchased at Safe Haven at 500 West Harford Street, www.safehavenofpikecounty.org or by calling 570/296-2827. They also available at the Golden Fish Art Gallery located at 307 Broad Street.

Safe Haven is a crisis intervention center providing support to victims, survivors and their families dealing with past or current domestic violence and/or sexual abuse issues.

The Heart of the Catskills,’ by Bob Steuding

FLEISCHMANNS, NY — “The Heart of the Catskills” is the latest book by Bob Steuding, author of “The Last of the Handmade Dams: The Story of the Ashokan Reservoir.” In his new book, Steuding describes the early settlement of the area, its exploitation by the tanning industry and the building of the Grand Hotel near Belleayre. He presents the stories of colorful personalities such as Jim Dutcher, the mountain man, and John Burroughs, the writer and naturalist.

In the preface Steuding writes: “More than 30 years ago, while working on another book, I interviewed a woman who was over 100 years old. She was ‘sharp as a tack’ and in full possession of her faculties. She had lived in the Esopus Valley before the construction of the Ashokan Reservoir and was the descendant of Catskill Mountain pioneers. ‘We’ve lived, and that’s all,’ she said, when asked about her family. ‘It’s a drawn-out story, and it doesn’t amount to much.’ Nonetheless, I was deeply interested in that story. For this place, and those who settled it, their very names often forgotten, their lives marked only by a weathered gravestone or by the rubble of an abandoned farmhouse foundation found high up on the mountainside have fascinated me since I was very young. The study of the Catskill Mountains and those who have lived in them in the past, in fact, has become my lifework.”

The book, which costs $15, is on sale at the Olive Free Library in West Shokan, NY, or from the Purple Mountain Press, 800/325-2665.

'Eat First—You Don’t Know What They’ll Give You: The Adventures of an Immigrant Family and Their Feminist Daughter,' by Sonia Pressman

“Eat First—You Don’t Know What They’ll Give You: The Adventures of an Immigrant Family and Their Feminist Daughter,” is a memoir by Monticello High School graduate Sonia Pressman. Pressman was born in Berlin and came to the United States in 1934 with her family to escape the Holocaust. She settled in the Bronx, then Woodridge, then Monticello. She graduated as valedictorian from Monticello High School in 1946. While at Monticello High School, she had a number of teachers she describes as excellent, one of whom taught her Latin. Although she already spoke German, Yiddish, Flemish and English, she left the class with a lifelong love of language that ultimately shaped her career and influenced the direction of her life.

Her travels included education at Cornell and the University of Miami School of Law, work as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, and co-founding the National Organization for Women (NOW).

“Life can be exciting and bring you your heart’s desire if you persevere. I wasn’t particularly happy with the person I was in high school. That was the person I was born and raised as—but thereafter, I created the person I have become. I don’t believe I did this consciously, but, nonetheless, I did it. You can recreate yourself as the person you want to be,” she said.

The book can be ordered from amazon.com, bn.com and borders.com. For more information visit www.erraticimpact.com/Fuentes.

‘Remembering the Sullivan County Catskills,’ by John Conway

John Conway’s newest book, “Remembering the Sullivan County Catskills,” is a compilation of articles from his “Retrospect” column. They shine a spotlight on famous faces of the past, from George Suslosky, phenomenal yet feisty diner cook, to “the worst woman on earth,” Lizzie Brown Halliday. The historical vignettes in this volume explore the customs and curiosities of the Sullivan County Catskills, from the beautiful woman rumored to live in a castle in Craig-e-Clare, luring fishermen from the Beaverkill River into her lair, to a monstrous panther that prowled the hamlet of De Bruce, feasting on trout and tourists.

John Conway has been the Sullivan County Historian since 1993. He is an adjunct professor of history at Sullivan County Community College, and regularly lectures throughout the region on Catskills history.

The book is available from The History Press, www.historypress.com. There will also be books available and a book signing by Conway on Wednesday, December 10 at Crawford Public Library on Broadway in Monticello at 7:30 p.m.