3 homes destroyed by fire- Calamar Lane, Woodstock, NY 10.23.18

A fire in Woodstock engulfed and destroyed three buildings on Calamar Lane belonging to guitarist, folk artist Peter Walker. Woodstock fire fighters arrived at approximately 3:55 a.m. Tuesday, October 23, said Woodstock Fire Chief Kevin Peters. “The first one was totally engulfed when we got there,” said Peters.

“A tenant living there had a candle burning in the kitchen that got turned over…the first house caught on fire, Walker’s house, it got so hot it caught the other two houses approximately 25 feet away.” Five families were displaced from their residences.

Walker, 80, said he woke up to a “wall of fire pouring into the hallway.” He got out, just barely, and tried to run back in for his dog, but he couldn’t see through the thick smoke. “I’m yelling fire and yelling all this time for my dog. I couldn’t see anything,” Walker said. He’s lost all of his possessions and his dog, Zorro has not been seen since the fire.

“The sequence of events is bizarre,” said Walker Monday night as he was in shock. “Most of my instruments, my master tapes, my library. Gone,” said Walker, who lost three priceless guitars in the blaze. “There was nothing we could do. It was blowing out the first and second floor windows when we got there…” said Fire Chief Peters.

“The neighbor woke up and called 911…it takes ten to 12 minutes to get there. There were probably 100 firemen from different companies — Centerville, West Hurley, Olive, Sawkill, Glasco and Ulster Hose. It was good that they were there…by the time the guys got done with the initial attack, we were pretty spent…there were three fires.”

“We were there from about 3:55 a.m. and didn’t leave there until 10:30 a.m. Then they called back said there was a little more smoke, so we went back and took care of it. The town came in with an excavator…”

Journalist: Nick Henderson. Photo credits: Dion Ogust

Child runs into abandoned barbed wire fence

This one is personal- when I was around 10, I was walking the family dog through a public park, less than a mile from my home.

My mum & a friend had walked ahead, and as I went to catch up with them, I ran through the woods and straight into the last remaining single strand of a barbed wire fence.

The rest of the fence had previously been removed, except this one section between two trees, that had been overlooked.

It caught me straight across my mouth, severing my upper lip in multiple areas.

Thankfully we were in close proximity to a residential area, and knocked on an unsuspecting door. Dish cloths were used to staunch the flow of blood as we waited for an ambulance.

I required around 150 stitches to my mouth, both inside & out, and was very grateful there was a talented plastic surgeon available that day.

Two inches higher and it would have caught my eyes. Two inches lower and it would have caught my throat. Life could have been very different.

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Its worth noting, throughout the Hudson Valley, there are thousands of miles of old stone walls, built and used by Indigenous peoples, and later farmers.

Around the turn of the century, as farmers moved from agriculture to livestock, barbed wire was used above stone walls, to keep the herds in place.

As you can imagine, I loathe this material, and have personally removed truck loads of abandoned barbed wire fences, from private land and state parks.

The next 5 minutes could save your life- I implore you to watch & share