May 28 - June 3, 2018 TOMPKINS WEEKLY Locally Owned & Operated TompkinsWeekly.com Vol. 13, No. 14 THE MAN BEHIND THE METAL Photo by Jamie Swinnerton Durand Van Doren has been working in his shop in Mecklenburg for 15 years. Recently Van Doren worked with the City of Ithaca to create 12 new artistic bike racks for the downtown area. By Jamie Swinnerton “I liked shop in high school blacksmith shop anymore, tedious. maybe it’s a small candelabra, as a Tompkins Weekly and I imagined myself a woodsman So, they had to hire somebody on the wedding present I think it was 35 with all the skills, that was really outside.” years ago. They came back to buy he vibrant public art scene appealing to go after and try and He had just moved to town another one for their daughter.” of downtown Ithaca recently learn that,” Van Doren said of his when he was offered the job. He The city of Ithaca approached found itself growing with 12 entry into blacksmithing. found the work to be right up his Van Doren after the company it new functional art pieces that double Van Doren, a resident of alley. had originally planned to work with T Trumansburg, rents his forge in “I like to make things, I like to produce the bike racks was too as bike racks. A sun and clouds outside of Bool’s Flower Shop, a fish Mecklenburg, which is strewn with to craft things, so here’s a new set of expensive. outside of Luna’s Street Food, and dozens of his past projects and art skills and I was a good worker,” Van “We actually, initially, an outline of New York State by the work. A giant sunflower throne, Doren said. thought we were going to Dewitt Mall are just some of the new, several sizable pie racks, a bench The commune sent him partner with a national bike rack colorful displays. made of horseshoes, and a queen- to the second ever Blacksmith’s manufacturer,” said Tom Knipe, The racks were designed sized bed frame are just a few of the convention, held in Georgia. This is currently City of Ithaca Deputy by area residents and submitted creations he still has. where Van Doren heard about the Director for Economic Development. to the City of Ithaca. Around 80 After moving to a little town Turley Forge Blacksmithing School “But, by some luck actually, that submissions were eventually whittled in upstate New York Van Doren in Santa Fe. After taking the next manufacturer, their turn-around time down to 12 and with the help of started working in a blacksmith fall course at Turley’s, Van Doren was quite long and we found that Bike Walk Tompkins the city came shop in what he calls a commune of immediately opened his own forge. they were a little bit difficult to work up with a few high-traffic areas to hippies. He’s been working as a blacksmith with so we came back to the drawing put them. But before they could be “People in the commune ever since and has picked up a bit of a board and said ‘We should see if installed they needed to be pushed were supposed to work in the following. it would work to work with a local from vision to reality and Durand blacksmith shop instead of “The first couple of years I manufacturer.’ Because that was really Van Doren was the man to do it. freeloading,” Van Doren said. didn’t really make very much money,” something we were hoping for from A local blacksmith and artist, Van “You had to do some work. We Van Doren said. “Some of the the beginning.” Doren and his helper Teo Aceto were coming around to that in the customers are still around. The other This is not Van Doren’s first brought the ideas to life in Durand’s commune. And people decided day someone came back. I made him Forge in Mecklenburg. that they didn’t want to work in the a little candle holder for the table, Continued on page 4 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Salt Point Brewing opens in Lansing..........................................page 3 Trumansburg's new mayor........................................................page 9 Q & A with Tracy Mitrano................................................................page 5 The Republican View...................................................................page 10 Thinking Ahead: Resources to age-in-place....................................page 8 IHS Girls LAX end decade-long drought...............................page 16 HostingHosting aa GraduationGraduation Celebration?Celebration? Don't Flunk The Final Exam! Your complete one stop shop for virtually every beer, cider & soda imaginable. Kegs, Growlers, Packs, Cases, and singles e 605 West Stat 277-BEER Hours: Mon-Wed 9-9, Thurs-Sat 9-10, Sun 12-7 www.FingerLakesBeverage.com Proudly represented by these local agents: The Wood Office True Insurance Bailey Place Insurance www.TheWoodOffice.com www.TrueInsurance.com www.BaileyPlace.com Tompkins Insurance Agencies Maguire Family Insurance www.TompkinsIns.com 607-261-1301 Trumansburg, NY FLFCC.com 2 TOMPKINS WEEKLY May 28 - June 3, 2018 Sponsored by LDANSINGRYDEN Salt Point Brewing: By the Community, for the community By Jamie Swinnerton Tompkins Weekly t’s small and a little inconspicuous but after a successful word-of-mouth Ieffort it can’t be ignored. Since opening last month, Salt Point Brewing, Lansing’s latest addition to the food and drink scene, has quickly become a popular spot for community gathering. While this new local spot is enveloped by the community, it is the Lansing area that led to its creation in the first place. The brewery has four owners, two couples. Growing up, Alexandra Karnow’s best friend was Sarah Hesse. “When we got significant others, they met – my husband Chris met Camilo 10 or 12 years ago – and they immediately hit it off on a friendship level,” Hesse said. Photos provided Above: Chris Hesse, left, and Camilo Bohorquez, right, are responsible for the beer produced by Salt Point Brewing, which opened in Lansing in April. Left: Sarah Hesse arranges a flight of Salt Point originals. All the beer at Salt Point is brewed in-house. Years later after Karnow the bureaucratic process for licensing graduated from medical school Hesse and all the other necessities they said they convinced her and her spent time doing some interior work, husband Camilo Bohorquez to move putting in their own brew equipment to the area. Chris taught Camilo to make all their beers in-house and about homebrewing and together start brewing in February of this year. they shared the experience of creating “We knew that we wanted to their own beer. Now, Chris Hesse is be in Lansing, we all live in Lansing,” Salt Point’s Brewer, and Camilo is Hesse said. “We saw that there was the Brewing Manager. But the titles room for more evening, afternoon don’t really matter, they all pitch in places for the community to gather where needed. and hang out. So, we knew that we “About a year and a half ago wanted to establish in Lansing. We we just kind of decided that the cards weren’t ready to jump in and purchase were all right and we were ready a property. We wanted to kind of do a to go for it,” Hesse said about the test kitchen concept first.” decision to open the brewery. “Just a The location, on a main big combination of everybody’s life intersection in town, and the visibility circumstances being in a position it offered was one of the main reasons where we could really jump into Salt Point moved into the space on something like this.” East Shore Drive. Hesse said the They decided to go for it and group decided on something small file their trademark paperwork and for a more affordable renting, keeping licensing. They found their building their overhead costs manageable. next to Rogue’s Harbor Inn on East Shore Drive and rent it from the Continued on page 11 Inn’s owners. 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