The Barn Blog

Scott Tarter, the President and Manager of Twin Lakes Farm brought a live horse named Wendy to the barn. Accompanying Scott was Ian Tsukroff, a farrier for over 20 years. Scott and Ian taught us a great deal about horses, with particular emphasis on the care of the hoofs. Ian pulled the old horse shoes off of Wendy, then trimmed and reshaped the hoof. He then fitted Wendy with a new set of shoes. It was fascinating to watch and participate in the process. Ian also demonstrated the art of creating a horseshoe from scratch, one of which is now permanently fixed to the barn entrance.

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The talk was given by Alan Weiss,  a 6-time Emmy Award winning Executive Producer, Program Producer and Writer. He told stores about some of the experiences he’s had as a TV journalist. The most amazing story was about Alan he broke the story on the shooting of John Lennon, while in the emergency room awaiting treatment for a motorcycle accident. This won him an Emmy Award, which he brought to the barn and passed around. Other stores related to his experiences with the Lebanese Civil War, the Son of Sam, Mohammed Ali, and Geraldo Rivera.

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Last year Brendon Tween performed Irish Rebel Songs at the barn. This year he returned to teach us some Irish Drinking Songs. We sang and clapped along, drank some Guinness, and got into the Irish spirit.  Two days later a bunch of us marched in the Eastchester St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

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Bob Huerster is a scholar who has taken a great interest in the life of Abraham Lincoln. He gave a fascinating a talk on Lincoln, which is very timely given the recent Spielberg film and Lincoln’s Birthday this month. Bob gave us some insight into what Lincoln was really like. The talk stimulated much conversation and many interesting questions. For Bob’s list of Lincoln resources, click here.

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The 73rd Barn Night was presented by Pepe Cardona of the band Alive N Kickn’. Alive N Kickn’ is best known for their 1970 hit single “Tighter, Tighter” which reached #7 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Pepe and his son Tim took us on a musical journey from the 1950’s through present day. Pepe told stories and shared entertaining anecdotes from rock history, including the story of his own one-hit-wonder. Pepe and Tim rocked the Barn to a standing ovation. The evening also included an honoring of Ben’s 50th birthday with a roast from several barn guys with gifts, cake, and a musical birthday salute by Pepe.

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Rob Simonetti is a Concrete Batcher at Ferrara Bros. Building Materials. Rob began by telling us the difference between cement and concrete. He explained how concrete is made and delivered to job sites. Rob showed some great photos and videos of the mixing and pouring process. He told some entertaining stories about the business and some of the unusual demands of his customers.

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Peter Tocco led this networking event with some assistance from Donato Vaccaro. Peter began by sharing his research and experience on the topic. He quoted various sources and gave us some tips for more effective networking. Then Donato spoke about the use of LinkedIn. A lively Q&A followed. At that point we took turns coming up in front of the group and sharing what we do for a living, and in some cases who we’re looking to meet. Peter and Donato ended the event by announcing the creation of the “Ben’s Barn LinkedIn Group” to leverage the relationships built in and through the barn.

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Mike Hynes is the owner of Mickey Spillane’s, Molly Spillane’s, Maggie Spillane’s, and Nelly Spillane’s. He told the story of his life, coming to this country from Ireland as a young man and achieving success in business. Mike shared some entertaining stories and humorous anecdotes about the restaurant business.

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Motorcycle enthusiast, John O’Leary led a discussion about Motorcycles. He began with an audiovisual presentation describing different aspects of motorcycle riding and competitions.  Then he gave a hands-on demonstration of helmets, clothing, and safety gear. Then we went outside where 21 motorcycles were gathered on display!  John led an interactive discussion whereby each motorcycle owner spoke for a minute about his bike. Approximately 50 guys attended this barn night, which everyone agreed was one of the best.

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We continued our annual tradition of BBQ night in the barn. We enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, sausages, steak, chicken, various side dishes and beer. A small group stayed until 4am, after a lively “wrap up”.

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