Stay Weird, Saugerties (but not as weird as Poughkeepsie)

  |  August 19, 2015
saugerties lighthouse hudson

Does this seemingly perfect view of the Hudson River from the Saugerties Lighthouse Trail belie a weird secret? Probably.

Will crazy headlines that used to start with “Florida Man” soon be replaced with crazy headlines that start with “Saugerties Man”? According to an article on WPDH.com, it’s already happening. “Is Saugerties the Strangest Town in the Hudson Valley?” postulates that hardly a week goes by without a weird, newsworthy incident in the northern Ulster County town. “Is there something in the water or is the town just getting a bad rap?” asks the article’s author, Boris (no last name, kind of like Cher). I don’t entirely disagree with Boris from WPDH, Poughkeepsie’s home of Rock and Roll, especially given the list of links provided in the article. They span the gamut from softball-related madness at Cantine Field to…well, more softball-related madness at Cantine Field. Oh, and a drunk man mowing his lawn, a purloined Gumby sculpture that lead to a Colbert Report appearance, a car accident involving a centenarian AND an octogenarian, and a different car accident in which someone attempted creating a new Dunkin Donuts drive-through by simply driving right through the entrance. It’s hard to argue with those stories, so I won’t even try.

I’ve lived in Saugerties for over a decade, and I’ve seen my share of weirdness. Hell, I’ve been an active participant in some of it. More than once, I’ve seen large groups of people wander en masse down my street in something resembling a parade but no indication that it actual is a parade (and for what occasion?). I’ve seen drunken fist-fights and screaming arguments in front of the Exchange. I’ve been to the Exchange. I once helped a friend shave off his signature mustache in the middle of the night in front of Miss Lucy’s on Partition Street. I’ve seen countless celebrities haunting Price Chopper and H.I.T.S. horse shows. I’ve seen the village taken over by a zombie plague every October. I’ve played (and won) at craps in the back of a now-defunct local bar. I may or may not have gone swimming in the middle of the night at the Saugerties Beach, and there’s no way to prove it even if I did. I can say, without hyperbole, that yes, Saugerties is weird. It’s weird, wonderful, friendly, and dances to a beat all its own. That’s why I’ve stayed longer than anywhere else I’ve ever lived, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Plus, it’s not nearly as weird as Poughkeepsie.

ed wood statue poughkeepsie

Coming Soon to the Cunneen Hackett in Poughkeepsie: A sculpture of Ed Wood. Well played, Poughkeepsie. Well played.

 

 

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

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