Whether you've lived in Bedford forever or moved here last week, chances are you were at once charmed by the miles of stone walls that seem to encircle this bucolic town. Ever wondered who built them? What craftsmanship is behind their artful alignment with landscape around them? Susan Allport, a Bedford resident and the town's appointed "fence viewer" will reveal some of the stories behind the stone walls in Bedford and beyond on Wednesday at the Bedford Historical Society's annual meeting at Historical Hall on the Bedford Village Green. Allport, author of several books including Sermons in …

Long a staple of the local fundraising scene, spaghetti dinners bring together community members and volunteers for food, socializing and raising funds for important causes. This Saturday the Katonah-Bedford Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps hosts a spaghetti dinner at the Katonah Methodist Church. Patch interrupted corps member Donna Perez's meatball-making to ask her about the event. Perez, a home care nurse for Montefiore Medical Center, lives in Bedford Hills with her husband, Cesar, and two children, Jessica, 19, and Heather, 12.  Patch: How did the spaghetti tradition get started?Perez: …

Jackie Jones came to the Red Cross after 9/11 because she wanted to help and put her social worker training to good use. Ten years later, she can't imagine a week without service to the organization. "I go every Friday," said Jones, a Bedford resident since 1976. "And sometimes more than that. The Red Cross provides a place to do the work that feels good in my heart." You don't have to be a social worker to volunteer with the Red Cross because 95 percent of the work is volunteer-driven—opening up a wide variety of possibilities, Jones said. "When people think of the Red Cross, they think of …

"A lot of residents may not know we are 100 percent volunteer supported," said Seth Hirschel, a firefighter with the the Bedford Fire Department. To help increase awareness of that fact and recruit new blood to the department, the firehouse will host a community open house to highlight volunteer opportunities and showcase the benefits of being an Emergency Medical Technician or firefighter with the department. The department is hosting the event during a statewide recruitment initiative sponsored by the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York, which also coincides with National …

Who knew collecting pennies from her fellow second graders to save a few kittens would lead Sophie Silverman, now 15, to having a role in the rescue of over 500 animals over seven years of animal advocacy? Her teacher and her parents may not have known it then, but she said she’s always felt a calling. “This is what I want to do with my life,” she said on a recent winter day inside her Katonah home, surrounded by her five of her own dogs. Each one tells part of her story. There’s Dakota, a purebred Golden retriever, her first dog and first canine love. Lassie is a Border Collie-Cavalier King …

Have you had the chance to meet Harold Girdlestone, Bedford's (relatively) new assessor? He took the reigns from Tom Polzella, who announced his retirement from the position last fall. Prior to his December start in Bedford, Girdlestone, a Dutchess County resident, served as town assessor in Yorktown for four years and before that worked in the state Office of Real Property Tax Service for 16 years.  While interviewing Girdlestone this week on a story about the impact of tax certioraris on school district budgeting, we asked him: What would you want to public to know about your office? Here's…

Most of us will need to make a “fashion 911” call sometime. Joyce Corrigan, Bedford resident and author of the book, “Marie Claire Outfit 911,” believes that solutions to most of your dressing dilemmas can be found in her new style manual. “I wanted to help people transform their look and stand out a little,” she said. “The point is to work with what you’ve got—whether you are at a wedding, in the boardroom, on a date, or on the red carpet—there are ways to tweak your look for the better.” The writer, television commentator, former editor-at-large and current contributor to Marie Claire …

Talk about using your noodle. Having kids participate in the kitchen has long been touted as a way to get them to try new foods and eat more healthfully. But local mom and new cooking class instructor Meredith Outwater plans to accomplish much more in her classes. Each session combines cooking, crafts, a fitness activity and in many cases, a literary or cultural component. "There is a strong educational element to all of my classes," said Outwater, a 37-year-old former financial services executive. "Whether it's learning about different countries or cultures, exploring the arts or …

911 are three digits we dread ever having to dial, but in the event we do, an army of fearless first responders awaits to answer on all days at all hours.  In Bedford and most neighboring communities, they’re also an entirely volunteer force—hometown heroes too often unsung. Among them are Bedford Hills residents Kate Palmesi, 18, and Jessica Carducci, 23, two promising young guns of Katonah-Bedford Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps. For Palmesi, the call to community service came naturally. “My dad is president of the Bedford Hills Fire Department, my mom is vice president of the corps and my …

Sherry Wolf’s calling for the past twelve years has been to uphold the mission of the Community Center of Northern Westchester: To improve the dignity, security and well-being of our neighbors in need by providing food, clothing and access to other resources. Wolf took the helm as executive director in 2008, after eight and a half years as president of the center’s board. With warmth and modesty, the hard-working leader has continued the tradition of the center by helping those in the community who say they are hungry or in need. Sheryl Bernhard, co-president of the center’s board of …

What started as a part-time job in high school to help her overcome shyness, has turned into a four-decades-long profession for Debra Vogler Kelly, the friendly waitress at the Katonah Restaurant. On weekday mornings, Kelly can be found serving up breakfast, plenty of coffee and a cheerful smile at the corner restaurant in downtown Katonah. “I started when we were located up the road, what is now the Blue Dolphin,” she remembers. “We had more men than women customers—it was a friendly, homey place, not real fancy—and we had food like meatloaf, macaroni and cheese and quite a lot more fried …

Brothers Dave and Jim Raneri are the third-generation owners of Charles Department Store, a rare gem amidst the corporate mother lode of modern suburbia. A step into their Katonah Ave. emporium is truly a step back in time.  Throughout its two floors, you’ll find anything from shirts to shoes, fly swatters to snow shovels and a housewares department dealing anything from frying pans to Soda Streams to the gas grills set along the sidewalk.  It's the General Store of yesterday provisioning products for today's discerning customers—run by two friendly guys sporting iPads instead of suede vests …

If you’re local, have hair and it isn’t sweeping the ground, you probably know Fred’s, the bustling haircut haven in Katonah Shopping Center. Meet the man behind the striped pole. Fred Ionta of Mahopac has been a familiar fixture in Katonah since opening his successful self-named salon thirty years ago.  But for Italian-born Ionta, who emigrated at age 12, it was far from his first foray into haircutting—in fact, it’s safe to say it’s simply in his DNA. “I’ve always been around it,” said Ionta, who has been in the business for 42 of his 57 years. “My uncle had a shop in Italy, and when my …