Hello Everyone: It’s Fran De Filippi Kurpil…What a beautiful October day! The view outside my windows of the colored trees make me wish I was an artist. It is truly extra colorful this year.

Family Fun Day: Parks & Rec. will be sponsoring a great Halloween Party at Walnut Mountain Park on Saturday, October 16 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be Trunk or Treat, pumpkin picking, hay rides and costume contests. Plus food and drinks.

Can You Handle Unexpected Scares: There will be a Haunted Hayride later that day on Saturday, October 16 from 7 to 9 p.m. Free admission.

Parksville Priorities Hosting Halloween Parade: Main Street 4 p.m. on October 31 Harriet Dorfman has organized this fun event. Sunday, Oct. 31…Come and be part of the parade…A great chance to wear more than a face mask…Wow…See you there!!

Mark Ruffalo: My daughter, Chrissy Jones, had a little conversation with Mark last week. She had to tell him how she loved his movie, The Girl Next Door. He had stopped in the Riverside Remedies, the Pharmacy in Callicoon that is owned by my grandson, Dr. Gene Burns. Chrissy helps out at the counter some days of the week when Shannon is off, and of course, is very engaging in conversation. Dr. Gene and his Mom, our daughter, Julie Burns are both Pharmacists there. Dr. Gene is gifted with the ability to compound various meds which can be life saving. Can’t help bragging. God bless them all.

Driving Down Main Street… and Beyond: Our American flags and beautiful hanging flower baskets make a great scene that I am very proud of. A special thank you to Mr. Lynn Barry who heads the Street Department. Etta Barbanti, from Barbanti Real Estate is very aware of things on Main Street and said she has a new Bakery opening on the right of the Museum. It is great to have another new business in the Village. I see great progress on the theater building along the street where several storefronts are taking shape. The Marine Midland Bank had some sprucing up to the front facade. I saw some workers painting or plastering recently and it is looking great. There is a definite upbeat sense around the Village in spite of covid and other issues. I know one of the aims by the town was to have serious contact with the owners regarding upkeep on their buildings. I have to mention the owners of the gas station opposite the School and Library has a beautiful flower garden out front. I love the spirit that is shown by various Main Street businesses.

For those out of area readers, we have two gorgeous circular gardens with American Flags at the round-abouts. We need a special Thank-You to all the workers I see first planting & then tending these gardens that are always looking so great. They create a beautiful scene as you drive toward Main Street, past the Kelly-Ratner Memorial where the stone work was done by Patrick Kelly, a gifted mason, in memory of his family member.

Liberty Fitness Center: Chatting with Cindy Fracasse…one of our great Main Street business owners for many years. I have admired her business attitude and being a main-stay of hospitality with her front-door table of free drinks & cookies on special occasions. I have helped serve hot cocoa when she invited Santa and his sleigh to come to town. As freezing cold as it was, the hot drinks and holiday excitement is unforgettable to me. Right now she said she is “feeling fabulous” because of a great amount of work completed at the front of her building. Newly stained shingles. new signage, new box planters and baskets of Fall flowers, redone lettering. That is great, Cindy. I can’t wait to see it all.

A Surprise Conference Call: What fun chatting and interacting with grandson, Andy Gieger and his kids from California. Cindy, Chris and I got to hear & see them show their carved Halloween pumpkins. Aaron and his three sisters were very proud and he loudly said, “we carved them ourselves”. He had even cut teeth. I can’t imagine all that work. Well, I know their Mom is very patient. As for my pumpkin thoughts.…just pumpkin pie, please.

Wearing Masks: It has become very common now and we have to accept it for a while. What I can’t stand is seeing the shot being given on daily tv news. I really don’t need to constantly see a bare arm with a needle being given. I’m not a nurse, and do not need to witness that scene. Do they feel we have to see it, to believe it?

Real Estate: Prices are up which was the result of increased demand. During my years in real estate I made many life-long friends and some very odd stories. How about this: I listed a privately set ranch house. On the front lawn was a plum tree, maybe about 10ft. tall. It was so loaded with fruit, so was a great picture for my listing as they proudly stood in front of it. The owners lived out of the area and came on weekends. My sign went up. One following weekend I had a frantic call from the owners. The tree was gone. I met them and saw a very professional theft. The sod had been replaced and it was hard to believe that anything had ever been there. Someone with the thieving expertise really liked home-grown plums. An unsolved mystery for the owners.

Enjoy our gorgeous Autumn, Columbus Day…no school days and all the October fun.

The next column should be out on Tuesday, October 26. Forward any Liberty news that you might like me to include. Liberty includes Parksville, Ferndale and Swan Lake.

Arrivederci…till next time.