Oct 5, 2009

Artisan gathering showcases sense of communityBy Pamela A. GibbsPostStar.com

Fort Edward — Two train stations at the end of July experienced two entirely different scenarios as the result of flooding.

In Rensselaer, disgruntled passengers slept on their backpacks, hoping against hope that news would soon bring them word that the tracks were open and southbound travel could resume. Television clips that day showed mounds of luggage and scowling faces.

In Fort Edward, the scene was vastly different, said Kathleen Presti, co-owner of Timeless Art, a gift boutique at Fort Edward’s historic train depot.

“Our passengers played old music trivia on the big-screen TV, and then Denise (Mayer) started playing her violin,” Presti recalled of that late-July day. “We all had a great time.”

Sunday, more than 100 people had another “great time” as they gathered for an open house at the recently established gift boutique and café, which features the work of 50 local artisans, 30 of whom reside in Washington County.

“I’m originally from Long Island, but lived in Queensbury and Fort Edward for the past 29 years,” said Presti. “My kids are gone, but here in Fort Edward there’s such a great sense of community that I’m not lonely anymore.”

The historic train station, which opened in 1900 as part of the Delaware and Hudson Railway Company Depot and is now on the National Register of Historic Places, was humming with activity Sunday as a standing-room-only crowd moved among the aisles of artisan goods.

Live music played in one corner of the airy space, as shoppers clogged the aisles, browsing for locally produced gifts.

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