Barbara Hammerstein

He Be a Rodrent Barbara Hammerstein

Barbara Redzisz Hammerstein, a.k.a. Basia, as a small child and a transplant from her beloved Poland, had always yearned to recreate a beautiful and bountiful garden. While singing on the Broadway stage she bought a piece of land in Rockland County in the lower Hudson Valley and began her journey into horticultural and culinary independence. Then an unforeseen battle began as she encountered an elusive enemy that decimated her tender newly planted crops that she with great determination replanted every weekend. One of her new neighbors declared, after listening to her sad tale of woe, that he knew who the stealthy culprit was who had been decimating her vegetables. "he be a rodRent", he advised her and offered to shoot it. She declined the offer and set out to safely rid herself of her elusive adversary. This is her story of that very determined and ultimately successful effort.