Newspaper The Times Herald Record 111th annual Bull Picnic

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Newspaper "The Times Herald Record" 111th annual Bull Picnic

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000367

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THE TIMES HERALD RECORD Story and photos by Chris Farlekas HAMPTONBURGH — One of the patriarchs of the Bull Family looked at the generations scattered around the old stone house and said: “This is a praise of the human season.” William Bull Cocks, 93, was the second oldest person to attend the 111th annual Bull Picnic last Saturday. He always comes in second to Homer R. Bull, Sr., of Monroe who’s 94. Since the cousins turned 80, they’ve been honored jointly so there won’t be any hard feelings. Homer gets the blue ribbon for being the oldest — but William is also given a ribbon for being second oldest. Homer is a quiet man — keeping memories and observations to him- self, rather like a poker player reluctant to divulge a flush hand. William is quite the opposite. “Dear God, remind me to pay attention” — is a prayer he says. “This is in the power of the very old to do, just as for the very young. Life can be full of miracles if you don’t get too cluttered up,” he added during a quiet moment Saturday. A “miracle” for him can be “a stone with a special color or a flat fungus growing out of a tree trunk.” But mostly, miracles have to do with people. He reached into his coat pocket and showed friends a picture of his wife who’s been dead several years. He still calls her sweetheart still and says if she had lived, they would be celebrating their 68th anniversary next month. family living Kathleen Ryan, editor The two oldest women at the picnic were the 91-year-old Ringelhan twins from Campbell Hall. Both widows, they’ve reverted back to their maiden names of Anna and Alma. Both wear hearing aids, which they often turn off. They chatter to each other in high-pitched voices like out-of-tune nightingales. During the speeches, they stood to one side, enjoying their own con- versation more than the business of the Bull Stone House being named to the National Register of Historic Homes. It is the house William Bull built for his wife Sarah Wells in 1722. The stream of nearly 400 people who attended the picnic, descendants of the county’s founding family, flowed down from the patriarchs to the babies. The two youngest folks were Elizabeth Hunter, 11 weeks — and Justin Cohen, 6 months. The stream of Bull cousins was a little top heavy in the middleage range — but there were more than enough young people to insure the honored tradition. There’s a special pride in being a Bull for many of the people attending. Take the matter of weather. Friday was a dismal, fallish day. This might make some worry about the next day’s weather — but not the most faithful of the Bulls. Betty Bull Brown, who lives in the Stone House and has raised a family here — said “The Bulls are mighty powerful prayers. And it hasn’t rained on a picnic in years.” The truth is that God might be afraid to rain on the picnic. “Amy would scold Him if He did,” is a favorite saying among the cousins. They’re referring to Amy Bull Crist, the former regional school superintendent. She’s an indomitable woman, reminding one of those majestic figures whalers used to carve on the brow of ships. 'The Bulls are mighty powerful prayers. And it hasn't rained on a picnic in years.' Mrs. Crist is as close to being a Boston Brahim grande dame as any- one Orange County has produced. “But you can forgive her anything — once you taste her ham,” one cousin said, as he made his third sandwich. Mrs. Crist’s ham is one of the glories of the picnic. She’s been making it the same “secret” way for decades. The ham rested on one of the numerous wooden tables around the house. But it wasn’t alone in its glory. Every woman tries to outdo the other in culinary treats. There’s no fancy French cooking, thank you, but the best of American. It was a day to forget diets. Most folks had at least two or three desserts — and some had as many as six. One of the most popular foods was the walnut-zucchini bread made by Vertrees Ackerly of Goshen. She’s in her 80’s and confined to a wheel- chair, but the disability hasn’t stopped her famed culinary skills. WALNUT ZUCCHINI BREAD 4 cups shredded zucchini 1 tbsp. and tsp. vanilla 3 cups flour 1 tbsp. cinnamon 2 1/2 cups sugar 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/4 cups corn oil 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda 4 beaten eggs 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 cup chopped walnuts (or more, if you’d like) Generously grease 2 loaf pans (9x5x3). Blend everything in a blender (except walnuts) for 1 minute. Then beat for 1 minute — adding walnuts. Pour in pans. Bakes in a preheated oven (325 degrees) for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans. The talk around the tables was the catching-up kind: who died — and how; who was sick — and why; who got married or divorced or had children. And since the cousins came from as far away as California and England, there were several threads making up the pattern. “You can still outpace me,” one older woman said to a male cousin she hadn’t seen since last picnic. They’d taken a walk around the lake behind the house. William Bull Brown, right, looks over old pictures with his nephew, Timothy Bull Brown. Above, the youngest male at the picnic: Justin Bull Brown, 6 months. He is the son of Maryann and William Cohen of Goshen. At right, Vertrees Ackerly is perennially an outstanding cook. [License Plate Image] BULL NEW YORK

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