Newsletter #184 - The Stone Wall (Rerun)
Rock solid compositions
This letter was originally published April 19, 2021 (#83).
There is a stone wall on my property that I have been obsessed with since I moved to Lumberland, NY, in 2013.
It's 619 feet long and in remarkably good condition given its age.
I first photographed it on October 31, 2014.
Like my other ongoing time-based (diachronic) projects, I have regularly photographed it through the years in different seasons and weather conditions.
I call the series "The Wall."
As we all learned last week (Letter #82), stone walls are really common all over New England. While this isn't New England, it’s close enough, and we definitely have a ton of stone walls.
But if you ask around to see if anyone knows anything about the walls, nobody does.
These walls just exist and are mostly taken for granted. People will say they are "farm walls" and they were built in the late 1800s. But that's all you get. No one really has any more information about them.
I feel like I need more information.
Luckily, Lumberland has a town historian, so I decided to write him an email about the stone walls. He wrote back and said:
"I really don’t have any information on the stone walls. I do know that they are the early link to the homesteads because the residents had to plow the soil and move the rocks out of the fields, so they used their intelligence and decided to use them to create territorial boundaries of their property, their farm and to contain their livestock. As you know we have many stone walls in Lumberland and it is my hope that all of them will be preserved. It is one of the earliest links to the region. Many of the walls are 150 years + since they were constructed and they were constructed well to endure all of those years! I hope this helps."
I am not sure that helped, but I guess that's it.
That's all the information we'll ever get.
After my email exchange with the town historian, I found out that he was a piano player and hosts a cultural arts series in Lumberland.
For some reason, learning that made me want to learn to play the piano.
So I got a tiny keyboard and watched a few "learn to play the piano" videos on YouTube.
Within two days, I had mastered the piano. It's amazing what you can learn on YouTube!
I was ready to share my musical talent with the world. So I planned a recital.
I rented out the Tusten Theatre in Narrowsburg, NY.
The night was filled with excitement and anticipation.
I opened with Fantaisie-Impromptu by Chopin.
My rendition was absolutely stunning.
Then I played everyone's favorite, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. I wanted to take the audience on a journey.
My execution was absolutely flawless. It brought a tear to my eye.
For my finale I chose to play Ludovico Einaudi's Nuvole Bianche. There is something about this piece. It is so simple yet so evocative.
When I finished, I took a bow for the at-capacity crowd, which was zero due to Covid restrictions.
It's truly too bad these are just photos and not videos. You’ll just have to imagine it.
Thank you to Ariel and Matt at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, who let me use the Tusten Theater for an afternoon. If you are ever in Narrowsburg, NY, visit and support the DVAA!
Don’t forget to check out The Hotline Show and subscribe to my new ambient YouTube channel, KALINA.
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Thank you!
Julia Sforza proofread this letter in 2021.
Kristen Neufeld has enough rocks in her yard to build a stone wall but not enough motivation.
Zach Vitale listens to Claude Debussy's Études when he eats dinner.
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Stacked rock walls are great, and always mysterious.
The second hal of the newsletter is hilarious!
thanks for making me chuckle.
Have you considered naming this wall?
Stone Cold Steve Wall
Wallford Brimley
Wally