9.28.2013

LEVON HELM MEMORIAL BOULEVARD!


By William J. Kemble
Correspondent


WEST HURLEY, N.Y. — State Route 375 was dedicated as Levon Helm Memorial Boulevard on Friday by admirers who said the singer and drummer always would stick by his friends and work to help underdogs beat the odds.

An afternoon ceremony near the intersection of Routes 375 and 28 drew about 125 people, including state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, who sponsored the legislation allowing the road designation. A sign bearing the words “Levon Helm Memorial Boulevard” was unveiled during the event.



The road renaming applies to the entire 3-mile length of Route 375, which runs from Route 28 in West Hurley to Route 212 in Woodstock and passes near the home where Helm lived on Plochmann Lane in Woodstock. He lived there until his death at age 71 in April 2012 after a battle with throat cancer.

Helm rose to fame in the late 1960s as a member of The Band, which was based for a time in a West Saugerties house known as Big Pink, and later drew acclaim for the Saturday night Midnight Ramble concerts he hosted in the barn/studio on his Plochmann Lane property. The Rambles often had big-name musical guests and allowed Helm to extend his fan base through many generations. Continued...

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