At 98, historian Carleton Mabee readies new book on Shawangunk land preservation controversies
There are not many people who can say that they authored a book — even fewer who can say that they’ve authored many. That puts the retired professor, longtime Gardiner town historian and award-winning author Carleton Mabee in an entirely different category: He’s about to publish his tenth book — Protecting Open Space in the...
New Paltz Rescue Squad looks back on 40 years of community service
This year the almost-all-volunteer New Paltz Rescue Squad (NPRS) celebrated its 40th year of serving the community. Established in 1973 by a handful of dedicated citizens, the Squad had the use of one small ambulance. While the original homegrown, community-based and family-like atmosphere is as strong today as it was in 1973, the NPRS now...
Gardiner to put former firehouse/library building on market
The Gardiner Town Board voted to put the abandoned old Fire Department station and lot on the market, after some dynamic debate. “We approved a motion to list this property as surplus property,” said Town Board member Warren Wiegand at last week’s board meeting. He went on to state that in his estimation, the abandoned...
Historic railroad trestle over Rondout Creek scheduled to reopen in June
If someone asked you to picture a single iconic image that captures the essence of Rosendale, the way the outline of Skytop with its tower symbolizes New Paltz, what would spring to mind? For many if not most, it would be the old Wallkill Valley Railroad trestle soaring high above the Rondout Creek and merging...
Event honors the memory of the nearly forgotten New Paltz African ancestors
When the Huguenots left Europe to escape religious torment, they knew a little something about oppression. So how did it turn out that those humble Protestant Christians who founded New Paltz came to own slaves? Much of it came down to the vast, wild tracts of land ceded to the first settlers of the Hudson...
Genealogist Jane Wilcox lectures on Hudson Valley colonization
With the advent of the Internet, researching one’s family history has become a more popular and accessible hobby than ever before. But not every document ever recorded has made it to electronic format as yet, and amateur genealogists can find themselves frustrated pretty quickly by enticing bits of information that lead to dead ends. If...
History lesson with Dr. William Rhoads
Dr. William Rhoads, author of Ulster County, New York: The Architectural History and Guide, will speak at a meeting of the Plattekill Historical Society on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2 p.m., at the Clintondale Firehouse on Route 44/55. The presentation will feature Ulster County’s rich architectural history with a focus on the Town of Plattekill and...
Gerald Sorin’s biography of Howard Fast revisits a controversial Communist figure
Gerald Sorin, a professor of history and Jewish studies at SUNY New Paltz, has just released a biography of Howard Fast, a writer and face of the Communist Party cultural scene during the 1940s and 1950s. “Howard Fast — Life and Literature in the Left Lane” has been published by the Indiana University Press. As...
A tour of New Paltz and Highland’s public clocks
The world did not end, according to some interpretations of Mayan prediction, so the clocks keep ticking — or at least some of them do — in public places and public spaces. With the assistance of Elizabeth Alfonso, the Town of Lloyd historian, and Carol Johnson of the Elting Memorial Library’s Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection in...
Nature at your doorstep – Whitman land
“The walk to take today is the walk you took yesterday,” wrote John Burroughs in his essay, “A Sharp Lookout.” Taking this advice, we took our walk today, as we have on many yesterdays, at the John Burroughs Sanctuary in West Park, site of “Slabsides,” the rustic cabin built in 1895 by the famous writer...
Walkway volunteers get shelter, donors praised
During a snow storm on a gray November afternoon, officials with the Walkway Over the Hudson State Park unveiled the latest feature along the 1.28 mile pedestrian bridge — a pavilion to shelter volunteers during inclement weather. Walkway volunteers, known as “ambassadors,” have been on the bridge since 2010 educating visitors about its history as...
Sojourner: Her life is highlighted in Senate House lecture
One of the controversies over the proposed Dwight Eisenhower memorial in Washington was the monument committee’s plan to depict the future general and president as a Kansas farm boy, from whence he sprang. The committee charged with creating a statue of abolitionist icon Sojourner Truth faced similar issues, ultimately deciding on an image closer to...