Iva’s Accord Roots
Fall 2014
Iva Lawrence’s mind is as tidy and organized as the lovely home she and her late husband, Vincent, built. About to celebrate her 97th birthday, Iva speaks with authority about her wonderful neighbors and family. Many regularly drop by to chat or to inquire about this or that—local history, local news—how to make something, or [Read More…]
Unsuspended Admiration: The Mid Hudson Bridge
Summer 2014
With its gold-embossed New York State seal, engravings of the first proposed Hudson River crossing and the one constructed, the hand-colored invitation shown below, reads: “The Governor of New York Cordially invites Mr. John F. Wadlin to witness the ceremonies incident to the opening of the Mid Hudson Bridge at Poughkeepsie, New York on Monday [Read More…]
The Flow of History
Spring 2014
Ulster County is a place of aqua-plenty. Sometimes, far too much. Most of the time however, water has positively shaped our lives as producers, consumers, recreationists, musicians and artists, students, and lovers of beauty. From its rivers, streams, vernal pools, cave lakes, Binnewaters, canals, and wetlands, we have so much water that we send millions [Read More…]
Mason Bee Update
Spring 2014
Mason bees are natives. They are found all over the United States and are excellent pollinators. I’ve been raising them as a hobby for five years and have written about them in previous About Town issues and been interviewed about them by Ulster Publishing. As I write this in February, I have no idea how [Read More…]
Beers Atlas of 1875
Winter 2013
A few images from the treasure trove that is Beers 1875 Atlas of Ulster County, NY. The entire atlas has been digitized by Ulster County and others. The atlas contains demographic information for each town; maps with property owners’ names; sites of hamlets, schools, churchs and hotels long gone and some still existing; and etching [Read More…]
‘Villes & ‘Dales
Winter 2013
Ulster County is comprised of one city (Kingston), twenty towns (New Paltz, Gardiner, Rosendale, etc), three incorporated villages (New Paltz, Ellenville and Saugerties) and about three dozen designations based on census tracts and postal addresses. Most of these last three dozen, plus other named places and small villages are what we consider “hamlets.” These have [Read More…]
Renovate or Raze?
Winter 2013
Prior to a fire that took the top section of the turret of the Ganse House (current Highland Library building), the lovely home was an inspiration to the thousands of laborers who traveled along the Highland-New Paltz trolley line. Today, the building’s fate is being discussed by Highland area residents and the library board. The [Read More…]
Marion: The Last Wallkill Borden
Winter 2013
Marion Borden’s mansion sits on a hill over-looking the Wallkill River Valley with the Shawangunk Mountains looming large in the distance. It is a commanding view of what her family christened Home Farm. It was to become a retreat for the Borden Family for generations and to become a model dairy for the nation. One [Read More…]
Local History Books
Winter 2013
Just in time for holidays and stay-cations, we have three books of local history to enjoy. A.J. Schenkman and Elizabeth (Libby) Werlau bring you Ulster County ripped from the headlines. Okay, so most of the crimes were a while ago. Regardless, human nature is not a pretty picture as painted in Murder & Mayhem in [Read More…]
Spans of Time
Fall 2013
You might think the newly opened span in Rosendale is just a junior act following Walkway Over the Hudson. You would be wrong. The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail (WVRT) bridge over the Rondout Creek is an intimate experience with different construction and a very different history running its course. There is much to see and [Read More…]
Harvesting Memory
Fall 2013
Ulster’s harvest has changed dramatically in the past 70 years. Growing up on what had been my grandparents’ farm at the intersection of the towns of Esopus, New Paltz, and Lloyd, we were surrounded by dairy, poultry, and fruit farms. In the 1940s my father turned away from farming to work as a heavy equipment [Read More…]
Gomez Mill House
Summer 2013
Few buildings can boast the varied American stories that took place in the Gomez Mill House. You’ll meet five important families whose tenancy spanned not just the centuries, but impacted important epochs of history in ways that continue to reverberate. In 1654, Luis Moses Gomez’s ancestors fled the tyranny of the Spanish Inquisition. In 1705, [Read More…]
Time Honored II
Summer 2013
With this issue of About Town, we are well into our 30th year of publication. Last issue we honored some of the business with whom we have been proud to associate over the decades. Here we highlight more area businesses that have proven their value to their customers and clients —they are “time-tested” as well [Read More…]
Local History Books Reviewed
Summer 2013
Marlborough On My Mind Marylou Mahan’s book, Marlborough On My Mind, published in 2009, is broken in to handy bite-size chapters and subchapters covering everything from education, spiritual life, famous and infamous individuals, local families, work, and finally, it brings us up to the planning for the quadricentennial celebration of Hudson’s trip up the river. [Read More…]
Bertolozzi’s Bridge Music
Spring 2013
After you’ve strolled over Walkway Over The Hudson, drive or walk to Haviland Road’s abrupt end at the Mid Hudson Bridge. There, be prepared for Bertolozzi’s percussive serenade, known simply as “Bridge Music.” Composer Bertolozzi’s amazing offering uses only the sounds he produced by striking different structural parts, cables, railings, beams, of the Mid Hudson [Read More…]
Time Honored
Spring 2013
As we at About Town celebrate the start of our 30th year, we honor other area businesses that have proven their value to you year after year, one year at a time, one customer at a time. It is amazing how many are still owned and run by the same families that founded them. We [Read More…]
Lilly
Spring 2013
Ten years ago, SUNY New Paltz Professor Bill Rhoads asked me if I knew the location of “Rock Nest,” the Highland (Town of Lloyd) home of artist Lilly Martin Spencer. I did not, nor was I familiar with the artist. As it turns out, I should have been, and for a number of reasons. From [Read More…]
Greetings from Stone Ridge
Spring 2013
Ridgley Manor was built for Francis A. Leggette. The grounds were designed by Frederick Olmstead. Postcards like this were used by summer boarders living in assorted outbuildings. Their rents contributed to keeping the estate’s expenses in line. Two cards in my collection are from 1908 and 1909 and indicate senders stayed there, probably in the [Read More…]
Collecting Postcards
Winter 2012
An About Town reader in Chicago sent me a magazine article about postcard collecting. Since I am of (mostly) Austrian ancestry, it was interesting to note that postcards were invented in the Austro-Hungarian empire around the time of our Civil War, (probably more correctly called the War of Secession?). The article went on to say [Read More…]
