More than an hour and a half before the forum was to begin, the line of spectators to see Vice President Joe Biden and his all-star education panel extended from the metal detector at the entrance of Goldstein Auditorium, through the lobby of Schine Student Center and out the door.

It included Grace Castaneda, a Syracuse University freshman from Corpus Christi, Texas. “My parents supported President Obama and Vice President Biden. It’s pretty cool to see something they were a part of,” Castaneda said.

It also would be cool if the panelists talked about how to help college students get their education, she said.

David Vermilya, co-director of the The Town Shop youth center in Camillus, was escorting several teenagers from the center. They got their tickets courtesy of Rep. Dan Maffei, whom Vermilya said wanted teens from his district to attend the forum. Dan Nolan, now a Maffei aide, is a Town Shop alumnus, Vermilya said.

“I’m expecting to hear maybe some ideas or options for young people” to afford college, Vermilya said. “It’s hard to figure out how to afford it, especially in the economic climate now.”

One idea he had not heard, he said, was any kind of proposal that would let students perform community service in exchange for tuition. That would be ideal for one of the teens he was escorting, Dakota Bateman, he said.

Bateman, 15, of Syracuse, said she had volunteered at the Samaritan Center and Sunshine Horse Rescue.

She’s anxious to hear any ideas that would make college more affordable, she said.

“I’ve done a lot of research and I know it costs a lot of money,” Bateman said.

Source: The Post-Standard

Without the Town Shop, my life was a dull gray. Now it shines with beautiful colors.

Shannon Bower-Portal, former Town Shop participant

Thank you for all the opportunities to view the world outside the box, giving the kids a broader view and a calm place to be themselves.

Susanne and Bob Gemmill, parents of current participant, Sarah

I cannot fully express the esteem I hold for David and Cheryl Vermilya. Even though running the Town Shop is their job, I feel it is more their calling. Their enthusiasm and selfless dedication to the town’s youth is immeasurable. They have contributed to the personal growth of my son by introducing him to the importance of community service and being a part of the community. My son has become a confident and socially conscious individual due to their influence.

Susan M. Czerwinski, parent of former participant

These words – and thousands more like them – sustain Cheryl Vermilya.

A box filled with more than 800 letters and poems from teens and their parents gives testimony to the profound influence Cheryl and her husband, Dave Vermilya, have had on the teens of Camillus for the past four decades. As co-directors of the Town Shop Youth Center, the Vermilyas have provided opportunity, adventure and a safe haven for any and all teens who walk through the door at 67 Main St. They’ve done it – together – since the center’s doors opened in 1971.

They work constantly: afternoons and evenings at the center, nights and weekends on cross-country ski treks, camping trips or volunteer outings. Through the years, they’ve weathered the storms of working in youth development: battling negative perceptions of teens, handling budget cuts and dealing with the typical ups and downs that come with the teen years. Cheryl’s box of writings helps her through those stressful days.

“What these expressions, thoughts, do for me is buoy my spirit,” Cheryl said. “I don’t think truthfully you could do a job like ours without that constant buoying.”

Working side-by-side with her spouse provides another constant lift.

Cheryl and Dave, both 60, met during their senior year at Hobart and William Smith colleges. They married six months later, the day before their graduation, in the campus chapel. Cheryl majored in Latin and sociology, Dave in political science. Working with youths never crossed either of their minds.

They were living in Geneva and both working after graduation when Dave’s father called to tell them a new youth center was opening in Camillus and to suggest he apply for the director’s job. Not wanting to disappoint his father but having no real interest in the job, Dave and Cheryl drove in for his interview. They were greeted by 40 eager and intelligent teens who conducted the interview.

“I left that interview with a completely changed attitude and heart about that job,” Dave said. “The kids asked us great questions.”

Shortly after they returned to Geneva, the couple got the call – they were both hired.

“I think working with your spouse as an equal is probably pretty unusual,” Dave said. “It’s been good. We each bring strengths of personality to different aspects of it.”

“It’s really not hard,” Cheryl said. “It is great to love your husband, but I admire and respect him amazingly.”

After 39 years of marriage, they call each other pie – shortened from cutie or sweetie pie – at work and they say they don’t argue. Their one rule is that all work talk must stop when they cross over the Thruway on their drive home.

When the Town Shop opened in 1971, even those involved didn’t think it would last more than a handful of years. But it filled a need for teens searching for involvement, acceptance and just a place to hang out. And, just as quickly, Dave and Cheryl got hooked on the work.

“Youth work- frankly, it chose me,” Cheryl said. “That’s how I think of it when I think of my life. It chose me. Then at some point very quickly it felt like an adventure and then next it felt like a wonderful adventure and that’s what it has continued to be, an adventure with trials and tribulations and smooth, snowy peaks of trust and love.”

Dave said he felt more secure in the job as each year passed. When the center made it to 10 then 15 years, it didn’t feel as fragile. The community supported it, and teens loved it. Still, Cheryl figured she’d have to quit at 40 because at that age, she’d be out of touch with teens.

“Then one day I realized it doesn’t matter your age or how you look or how you dress,” Cheryl said. “If you give teenagers or other human beings trust and throw in a little affection that’s sincere, it doesn’t matter.”

That’s a vibe- most any teen will tell you – they don’t get from many adults. Cheryl, with no children of her own, has been called a mother figure to hundreds of teens. But that’s not how she sees it.

“When a teen comes in the front door, I don’t judge them,” Cheryl said. “I see the light or the beauty in them. I feel like they’re my equal, though I know I have much more wisdom than they do. I think of them as friends.”

Dakota Bateman, 14, would agree. She said she rarely sees the Vermilyas get frustrated or angry with the teens.

“Dave and Cheryl are just amazing adults you don’t really find,” Bateman said. “You don’t see a lot of people that are willing to run a place for teenagers, who are probably the people that get the least amount of respect in the community.”

That openness helps contribute to the welcoming atmosphere of the center. Teens can drop in any time after school to play ping pong, pool or foosball, watch TV, listen to music and have a cup of coffee. One floor of the center is devoted to the teens’ artwork and photography. The center hosts open mic nights for teens to sing and read poetry.

Bateman describes herself as different from most teens and said she had one friend before she started participating in the Town Shop. Now, she’s got plenty and she’s involved in her community through the program’s volunteer efforts. It has made her calmer and more accepting, she said.

“When I went to the Town Shop, it’s like a family there,” Bateman adds. “Everyone pretty much accepted me.”

Much more programming happens outside the center. Weekly volunteer outings send teens to the Samaritan Center to serve meals or to the fairgrounds to work on a horse rescue program or outside to clean up Onondaga Creek. Adventure outings could mean kayaking, camping or skiing or attending a folk music festival. Every year, the Vermilyas take teens to Cape Cod and go whale watching. The teens are involved in just about every aspect of the planning.

For the Vermilyas, the rewards far outweigh the stresses. Watching teens come into their own, try something new, express themselves and feel proud of their efforts all add up to a great day’s work. Dave describes a recent moonlit cross-country ski outing to Beaver Lake Nature Center. Three teens on the trip had never been skiing before. They didn’t know how they’d do. By the end of the night, Dave could feel their excitement.

“You could just feel it,” Dave said. “It was palpable. They were pumped up. They could have stayed home and watched the Grammys, but they took a chance. I feel good when I see that and when I experience that.”

Source: The Post-Standard

Dave Vermilya, Town Shop co-director, speaks in recognition of the volunteer spirit displayed by Town Shop teens at the third Seva Recognition Dinner last week. Recognizing and celebrating the volunteer spirit of local youth was the message of Wednesday evening’s Seva Recognition Dinner, held at the Camillus Methodist Church in the village.

The Camillus Town Shop joined with church members last week in honor of the nearly 70 Town Shop participants who have attended a seva (selfless service) program at least once since June 1, 2008. The word “seva” is used at the Town Shop to portray the act of selfless service, for which the volunteer receives nothing. Through the Town Shop, teens could display the seva spirit by volunteering on Wednesdays at the Samaritan Center, or Saturdays at the Sunshine Horse Rescue, without gaining community service hours or school credit for their time.

Town Shop co-founder David Vermilya described seva as, “anything you do that benefits others, without expecting a reward.”

The presence of that altruism in Camillus youth was the highlight of the recognition dinner last week.

The Great Divide

One of the more subtle purposes of last week’s dinner was to bring together community members of different ages, Vermilya said.

Last year, Pastor Dana Horrell was new to the parish and heard from church members that they were not content with the divide between the youth in the town and the older residents. The church approached the Town Shop, just up the road, and suggested the two groups make an effort to cross the age barrier.

“It seems more like different age groups exist in isolation; how can we kind of return to that sense of time when people were comfortable and unafraid to interact?’ was the question the two groups wanted to answer,” Vermilya said.

In the spring, the two groups, teens from the Town Shop and seniors from the church, spent time together after a Town Shop volleyball game. That first event was telling, Vermilya said, as the two groups hit it off.

Last week’s dinner was evidence of the success, as people of all ages continued to visit well over an hour following dinner, he added.

Deserving Of Recognition

Town Shop teens were honored last week at the Seva Recognition Dinner, for their selfless volunteer efforts since June 2008. Each honoree received a prize, paid for by a generous donation from Richard and Barb Canty, of Camillus. Daryl Olin was recognized as the adult volunteer of the year; John Spears volunteered the most since June 1 at Sunshine Horse Rescue; Joel Bowman and Nicole Cunningham tied for second place behind John; Dakota Bateman volunteered the most since June 1 at the Samaritan Center; Melissa Stepien and Nicole Rizzo tied for second place behind Dakota.

Former Town Shop teens Debra Ancillotti, 23, and Amber Micek, 31, were recognized by David Vermilya as “examples of what we kind of hope will happen, and what we see happen if people embrace this spirit of volunteerism.” The two women are avid volunteers in the community, carrying with them the volunteer spirit after their time with the Town Shop. Combined, Ancillotti and Micek have volunteered at least 500 times at the Samaritan Center, Vermilya said.

Source: CNYLink

Some people sit back and watch television for hours upon hours, dreaming and wishing for certain parts of their life to just happen before their eyes. Some, perhaps, wish to become great mathematicians yet fail to study their craft, while others dream of becoming the next American Idol but never practice a single chord of an audition piece. However, some people believe in following their goals and dreams. Rob Wolf is one of those accomplished dreamers.

“When I began web design, I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” said 23-year-old Rob Wolf, a West Genesee High School graduate who is currently enrolled at Onondaga Community College where he studies graphic design. Like many other students and graduates of Camillus area schools, Wolf is a volunteer at the Camillus Town Shop and has been for quite some time. He has recently designed a remarkably appealing web site designated for the Town Shop and those who are interested in the local teen hangout.

“When I was young, I wanted to be an inventor,” Wolf said. “I had no clue what I’d invent but was inspired by movies (such as Ghostbusters).”

As a child, Wolf was like any usual kid. He enjoyed playing with Legos and climbing trees outside – nature was always a way for him to relax in a calming atmosphere. His love for web design began later in his life.

“What inspired me was that the previous website – visually it was just kind of there,” Wolf said.

The layout of his web site is a visually appealing collection of neutral browns and greens. It’s not only attractive to the eye but allows the body to relax and feel comforted.

“I’ve come a long way – designing it has taught me a lot,” Wolf said. “It allows me to put it in the hands of someone else. They don’t have to have much computer experience. I designed it to be really user friendly.”

The Town Shop website is only one of Wolf’s accomplishments. He has also created a flyer for the Syracuse Peace Council, which was recognized by the local paper and has also designed the layout for a friend’s small, personal video.

But if it weren’t for the Camillus Town Shop, none of what Wolf has accomplished on his website would be possible. Thanks to the founders Dave and Cheryl, everyone is able to view Wolf’s neatly laid out website on the internet.

“I like to see Cheryl and Dave and say ‘Hi’ and help out..” said Wolf with a grin. “If it weren’t for the Town Shop, I would never be playing volleyball.”

By volunteering at the Town Shop, Wolf has not only met wonderful people that he will remain friends with for some time, but has also followed one of his dreams and captured it.

This remarkable website can be found at camillustownshop.org and is open to emails and comments.

By viewing Wolf’s site, you can catch up on what you missed that week and can see what activities are planned for the next.

Cheryl Vermilya sat at the dining room table on the third floor of the Town Shop Youth Center cutting cloves of garlic for a future meal or cooking lesson. She was still indignant.

Only recently a man getting coffee next door accused her of “cooking the books” for the Town Shop, which she and her husband have run for the past 36 years. She was infuriated by the accusations, but tried to stay calm. She told of the volunteer work the teens do around the village of Camillus, at places like the St. Paul’s Samaritan Center, the Sunshine Horse Rescue and soup kitchens in Syracuse.

But she said the man was not appeased. At the next village board meeting, he stood up and said Cheryl had approached him, angry and yelling. She was not at all happy how he portrayed her to the community.

“Where does this depth of hatred come from?” she asked. “I don’t know.”

Teens Not A “Problem”

Since the Town Shop opened in 1971, the Vermilyas have understood that some dislike the Town Shop because it sits on the main street. But the Town Shop has been at its current location for almost its entire 36-year history, and Dave and Cheryl think the teens are not the problem some portray them as.

“They’re nice kids but they are not the athletes or the national honor society students for the most part,” Dave said. “But they are still good kids, kids who in other places are under served.”

Some have told the Vermilyas the teen center is bad for local business. Others have said they just do not like the look of the teens standing outside the building.

“Is this not America?” Cheryl asked. “Can’t people stand on the street and talk?”

Whatever the criticism, Dave and Cheryl just use it as motivation to continue.

“They are wrong and some of them border on evil,” Cheryl said. “I would never let evil win out.”

But they believe most in Camillus support the center and their efforts. The Town Shop depends on taxpayer money and state grants. Whenever Dave or Cheryl needs something, the Town board usually comes through.

“Usually towns won’t even try this, and Camillus listened,” Dave said. “It was pretty amazing and in hindsight, looking back, it was brilliant, letting young people in right from the beginning on the creative process, from interviewing the staff to picking the building.”

Dave and Cheryl have been married for 37 years. For 36 of those years, they have run the Town Shop. Working with one another is the glue that has kept the couple at the teen center, at least for Cheryl.

“I get to be with someone that I love,” she said. “And the best part of it is that I love and respect him.”

As a current Town Shop participant Garrett Koloski put it: “The Town Shop is Dave and Cheryl.”

A Place To Go

The Town Shop sits in a three-story, red brick building on Main Street in the village of Camillus. The building – more than 100 years old — is believed to be an old Pony Express office. The bottom floor houses ping pong, foosball and pool tables. Local teens look relaxed and comfortable sitting on the worn in furniture, watching TV and drinking coffee. A walk up to the third floor engulfs visitors in the thick aroma of incense. The third floor’s walls display the artwork of Town Shop teens dating 30 years back. Sheet blankets emblazoned with Eastern motifs swoop down from the high-arched tile ceiling.

Dave keeps ambient music constantly emanating from the large amps and speakers draped with Christmas lights. Koloski approaches Dave with the new Nirvana album and Dave excitedly glances over the cover.

“Can I borrow this to make a copy?” he asks. His album collection is already extensive.

For Dave, it is not just about providing a place for teens to go; it is about building relationships.

“I think many of them might say it is significant to have adults in your life who are not your parents or school teachers, and you’re on a first name basis with,” he said. “Someone you really have this sort of friendship relationship with. It’s significant to have adults who are interested in your life and want to know your story.”

And the teens feel comfortable talking with Dave or Cheryl.

“They treat you like you are the same age,” said Logan Messina, 15, a high school sophomore. “They don’t talk to you like they’re your parents; they treat you like an equal.”

Koloski agreed. “They don’t talk down to us,” he said. “It’s kind of like home, only better.”

Dave and Cheryl have created an atmosphere for the teens where they do not feel the peer pressure and stress that exists in school.

“There are no cliques here,” said Steve Burnham, 18. “Everyone knows everyone.”

There are no rules posted in the Town Shop, and that is how Cheryl likes it. Many teen centers post large signs of with the rules. Instead, Cheryl sits down with every new teen and goes over the Town Shop etiquette with them.

“They are here to supervise but not here to enforce,” Burnham said.

“My Backbone As A Teenager”

Travis Ingersoll, 30, lives in Philadelphia but grew up in Camillus. He often frequented the Town Shop. Travis’ father abandoned his family, leaving his mother a single parent and forcing him to cope with his own personal problems, while basically raising his siblings.

He struggled in school and was advised to just drop out and earn a GED. Dave and Cheryl were important mentors to Ingersoll while he fought his way through such a tough young adult life.

“Basically they were like my backbone as a teenager,” Ingersoll said. “Dave and Cheryl alone, as people without the Town Shop, are two of the most positive influences in my life.”

“And the Town Shop, without being involved in that, I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have that as a resource because based on my background, limited amount of resources that my mom had as a single parent,” he continued.

“They brought me everywhere, large trips. They introduced me to volunteering at soup kitchens and helping out the elderly and a million other things, Habitat for Humanity, cleaning up roadsides, and it gave me a sense of accomplishment and that I can contribute to the world. Where before I never had that feeling.”

Ingersoll eventually went to college at SUNY Buffalo, and has since earned a master’s degree in social work. He is currently working toward a doctorate in education with a specialization in human sexuality at Widener University in Philadelphia. When he finishes, he plans to go into therapy, helping people deal with sexual trauma.

“They shaped me into being a human service professional,” Ingersoll said. “I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing today if I hadn’t met Dave and Cheryl or became a participant at the Town Shop.”

Dave and Cheryl still stay in close contact with Travis and take pride in knowing that he and other Town Shop participants are making positive contributions to their communities.

“It is the purpose of a youth development program like this to support the kids in a way the schools can’t,” Dave said. “There are always those students who fall through the cracks of functionality or they don’t do well enough in school. So they don’t get the encouragement to make it. We can look back at so many people from the past who we are still in contact with and they let us know what they are doing. And we are amazed at what they have done with their lives and we feel that we had a part in that.”

Love At First Sight

When Cheryl met Dave in her senior year at Hobart and William Smith Colleges she fell in love with him at first sight.

“I saw David on campus and little bells went off in my head, and I knew he was the one,” she said.

Dave was into reptiles at the time and on their first date Dave asked her if she wanted to come up to his room to see his lizard. Cheryl, not understanding his intent, was taken aback.

“I thought ‘who does he think I am?’” she said. “I mean I just transferred from Catholic college.”

The couple married on campus June 13, 1970, the day before graduation, to celebrate with their college friends. They moved into a small apartment in Geneva and Dave took a job as an agricultural researcher for Cornell University.

“We were like little hippies in those days – we wanted to live close to the earth. I in fact we still do,” Dave said. “But we viewed it as a temporary situation.”

About a year later, Dave received the news that would inevitably change his and Cheryl’s lives. His father told him about a teen center opening in Camillus that was looking for a director. Out of respect for his father, who gave him the referral, the couple made the hour-long drive to Camillus on a snowy February night with little intention of even accepting the job. Waiting to conduct the interview, much to their surprise, was a group of almost 50 teens.

“They were at the time only looking for one director, but by then we had been married less than a year,” Dave said. “We were inseparable and I was the applicant, but Cheryl accompanied me everywhere I went. The kids asked all the questions. There were adults present but if there were 50 people, there were 44 kids and six adults, maybe. We were told that everyone in the room had an equal vote, which was pretty amazing. And we thought the kids asked great questions.”

“We were really impressed with all the high school students. They were really only a little bit younger than us.”

Dave and Cheryl made an immediate connection. It was as if they were meant to go to the interview.

“One young woman followed us out to our Volkswagon Beetle, and came over and gave us a hug. She said I hope you two get the job, even though it was only one of us applying. She and they could see that we came as a team.”

A week later they were offered the job. Ever since, the Town Shop has consumed both their lives, to the point that most people they know were somehow involved with it. And most of their lifelong friendships have grown out of it too, which Cheryl appreciates.

“I am so lucky that every friend I have is some way associated with the Town Shop,” she said. “They’re like gifts to have been able to meet them. That’s why I am still here.”

Still, Dave is astonished that he and his wife are still directing the center.

“No one could have dreamed in 1971 that we would be sitting here 36 years later still managing a place like this,” he said. “In fact the anticipation was two years, maybe two and a half. Projects like this just didn’t have longevity.”

An Attack Generates Support

In the early 90s a town board member attacked the Town Shop saying that there was nothing anyone could say to prove to him that it had ever benefited anyone. According to Dave and Cheryl, this attacker had never set foot in the building. They decided to write an editorial in the local newspaper to emphasize the value the Town Shop has to the community. The story prompted letters of support, and former Town Shop teens from all over the country joined the campaign. Over 450 letters swarmed the local government mailbox.

“Sometimes I think about what’s our legacy,” Dave said. “I’d love our legacy to be that in another 30 years I’ll be almost 90 and that I could maybe come through this village and still see this place functioning.”

“But even if that didn’t happen, even after we leave and someone else isn’t able to keep this place alive, which I hope is not the case,” he continued. “But even after 36 years, there’s a struggle involved. I think our legacy is all these young people who have gone on with their lives to do wonderful things and make contributions to the world, and to know that we had a small part in supporting them as they were developing.”

The board member made his first trip to the Town Shop to ask Dave and Cheryl to call off the campaign, but there was nothing they could do. The generations of Town Shop teens were determined to defend their former mentors and friends, Dave and Cheryl.

Cheryl still keeps all the letters and wishes to be buried with them.
“I’m sure I can get into heaven a hair faster if those letters are with me,” she said.

Remembering the letters, she smiled, fighting back tears in her eyes.
“Sometimes I pull some of the letters out and read them. I think, uh oh, this is why I am here. It’s a God thing.”

Zachary V. Zagger is a student at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. This article is part of a series of profiles written by Newhouse students for Eagle Newspapers. To read the entire series, go online to cnylink.com and click on “Familiar faces.”

Back in the early 70s, when young people were in the middle of a nationwide social revolution, a group of teens in Camillus wanted their own special place for meeting friends, listening to music, and talking about timely concerns. Together, they approached a community group with their request.

Not long after, an abandoned clothing store called the Town Shop, at 67 Main St. in Camillus, was revitalized into a meeting place for area teens.

Now, 36 years later, the Town Shop continues to offer area youths a “place of their own,” to share common interests, as well as offering many motivating programs.

“In most New York communities, there is little for teens to do if they are not into athletics,” said David Vermilya, who co-directs the Town Shop with his wife, Cheryl.

Vermilya attributes some of the Town Shop’s success to the fact that when it began, the teens were invited to help make important decisions about the direction of the group, including interviewing prospective staff, decorating the space, and what types of activities could and would be offered. Now three major programs attract, educate, and promote participation from 40 to 60 local teens each day.

Adventure Experiences include a myriad of four season activities from camping, cross-country skiing, kayaking and snowshoeing, to more extreme experiences such as whale watching and a recent winter break camping experience.

Creative Expression at the Town Shop opens the microphones for poetry, song swaps, and concerts.

For those with more visual interests, there is photography and art encounters and chances to take part in other areas for imaginative interests such as cooking, forums, and speak-outs.

All of these activities require revenue to keep going and growing.

According to Vermilya, “The three major sources of funding that keep the project alive and well come from the Town of Camillus, Department of Aging and Youth, a BOCES grant, and money raised by the youths in a variety of fundraisers. Title IV money from the West Genesee School District have been used to purchase equipment such as canoes, kayaks, tents, backpacks, art supplies, a PA system, and other activity related necessities.”

The youths at the Town Shop do not just accept and enjoy what has been provided to them without giving something back to the community. Many members participate in a number of volunteer actions.

For the past eleven years, Town Shop volunteers offer weekly services at St. Paul’s Samaritan Center. They also volunteer at the Sunshine Horse Rescue, an organization that cares for retired and homeless former racehorses housed at the NYS Fairgrounds; work on Earth Day projects; and help with the Onondaga Creek Cleanup and other collaborations with local civic groups and causes.

Needless to say, this youth organization has received numerous awards and acclaim over the years because of its well-designed functionality and caring participants.

Recently, after the youths returned from helping at the Samaritan Center, they enjoyed cutting into a cake to honor the Town Shop’s birthday. After 36 years of service, the community can only hope for many more, as Town Shop’s members spread caring and devoted action.

On March 7 the Town Shop reached a remarkable milestone. The program celebrated its 36th birthday. Many people claim it is the longest enduring teen program of its kind in New York State. Some say it may be so for the entire United States, particularly under the same leadership. And it is a tribute to the Camillus community that has supported and sustained a program that honors the interests of the youth population that is underserved in most other communities.

Winter season has been particularly busy. Daily attendance has averaged 40 to 60 teens per day with new participants entering the program weekly. Sine the beginning of the school year nearly 90 different young people have donated their time and energy to weekly service projects like feeding the disadvantaged at St. Paul’s Samaritan Center or caring for retired race horses awaiting adoption at Sunshine Horse Rescue. Two four-hour training sessions for new volunteers attracted 40 teens who spent the time revisiting and reviewing program standards and assessing ways to welcome new participants, explain the program to visitors and maintain smooth relationships with neighbors.

While the first half of winter offered few opportunities for outdoor adventure, by February break there were was snow galore just in time for a three-day winter camping trip at Highland Forest for more than 20 young people. And there were numerous opportunities for creative expression, from well-attended showcase music concerts to monthly open mics for poetry and music. A particular highlight was the Feb. 7 songwriting and poetry workshop hosted by nationally known songwriter Peter Mulvey.

As spring approaches the Town Shop program begins a major transition. With warmer weather comes greatly reduced building hours, down to three evenings per week in April and May, and two evenings per week in June, July and August as program emphasis shifts outdoors and away from the building. Canoe and kayak adventures, volleyball at Gillie Lake, picnics and field trips to area parks, service projects like the April 21 CNY waterways cleanup, Earth Day, Rotary Club pancake breakfast May 12, plus major field trips like New York City become the norm.

The Town Shop teen center of Camillus has hosted an open house, attended cinema outings, partaken in educational programs and competed in sports events during the months of November and December. A mini-grant from the US Office of Education has allowed them to send a team of seven to Yale University for the Drug Dependence Institute in February.

The Town Shop open house was held November 13th with more than 100 people attending to see a slide review of past summer and fall activities, and to watch David Vermilya gulp, swallow and gorge his way to victory in the first annual Town Shop pie eating contest (Six out of seven other contestants were unable to finish their pies).

Since the open house, program activities have continues at the Town Shop. In cinema, there were three field trips to Gifford Auditorium to see the movies “Love” (Nov. 14), “The Harder They Come” (Nov. 15), and “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” (Nov. 28). Four other movies were shown at the Town Shop: “Medium Cool” (Nov. 9 – a great film depicting the American political climate in 1968, by the director of “American Graffiti”); “Friends” (Nov. 20 and 21); “The Red Tent” (Dec. 7); “Brothers Karamazov” (Dec. 20).

The Town Shop Cinema Program will continue through 1974 with more films (“Walkabout,” “The Magic Christian,” “WUSA,” “Bless the Beasts and the Children,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Harold and Maude,” “The Illustrated Man,” and more) and more field trips to SU Film Forum.

Other field trips this winter have included: Eighteen to a square dance at the Liverpool Youth Center (Nov. 16); 22 to Ithaca to see Weather Report and John McLaughlin in concert at Cornell (Nov. 29); and what had to be a highlight of 1973 for 38 people, a field trip to Montreal on December 2nd to see the Who in concert.

(The Who is probably the most outstanding live concert band in the world, the only British group to have remained intact since the early 1960’s. A musical genius, Peter Townshend, will be renowned as Bob Dylan and Lennon-McCartney, if not more so. Most notable are his inventive style and use of guitar and synthesizer, his creations “Tommy,” the first rock opera; “Live at Leeds,” the first and best live album ever recorded; “Who’s Next and Quadrophenia,” probably the best rock albums of 1972 and 1973. Also, all four members of the Who have recorded some fine solo albums, Roger Daltry’s being most impressive.)

It was a phenomenon to return to the parking lot after the concert in Montreal to find Ken Sherwood leaping about in mid-air doing splits and windmills in a crazed effort to imitate Pete Townshend’s guitar playing performance. And everyone buzzing, probably for weeks later in school, about the concert. Incredible.

Educational programs at the Town Shop have included: A film and discussion led my the Syracuse Satsang Society on ECKANKAR- The Ancient Science of Soul Travel (Dec. 4); Transcendental Meditation lectures (Dec. 6 and 11, Jan. 8 and 15) plus individual training for those wishing to continue (12 meditators so far at the Town Shop, more learning in January); a Woman’s Awareness Group led by Rosalyn Syp (Dec. 13).

On December 28 two foreign visitors, sponsored by the International Center in Syracuse, spent an evening at the Town Shop exchanging cultural information – Dr. Erastus Mutiga from Kenya, and Dr. Lapau Buchari from Indonesia. It was a very interesting and enjoyable evening.

Wednesday night volleyball began December 5th at Camillus Elementary School gym and will continue into the spring. A game is scheduled for January 30th with the County Health Department’s VD Hotline staff, and more games will be scheduled.

Future programs include: A program about New York State Drug Laws, with speakers from NACC and law enforcement (Jan. 21- starts at 8pm, the community is invited to attend); a youth-adult discussion group on the topic of impeachment; continuing Women’s Awareness Group meetings; a monthly seminar on religion and philosophy with programs about Meher Babam, Baba Ram Dass, Zen Buddhism, Divine Light Center, etc.; a field trip in February for a 7 ½ mile hike in the snow; a field trip planned in cooperation with the National Speleological Society to explore a cave someplace in the Adirondacks; seminars on tie-dying and other crafts.

The Town Shop has received a mini-grant from the US Office of Education to send a team of seven people to Yale University to attend a Drug Dependence Institute (to learn how to help people who are addicted to alcohol and other hard drugs) February 24th to March 8th. The Town Shop will remain open during these two weeks, staffed by volunteers.

The Recycling Center has been operating smoothly. We would ask people to stop wasting so much energy talking about the “energy crisis” and start recycling some of our natural resources. The Camillus Recycling Center will take glass, cans, newspaper and cardboard, and is located on the corner of Bennett and Belle Isle Roads. If you don’t use it, who will?