The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown will play host to some mid-summer silliness on Wednesday, August 14 at 7 p.m. when “It Happened in Middletown” will be performed by a troupe of local thespians directed by Marge Miller.

The playlet will be staged at the HSM hall, 778 Cemetery Rd., Margaretville, 12455. Admission is by donation.

The cast of the campy melodrama, set in the 1890s, includes Burr Hubbell as Reverend Trueheart Bubble, Katie Rosa and Erin Cure as orphaned sisters Aster and Petunia Fairbaby, Grant Cure as Chesterton Goodblood (known as “Chest” due to his renowned muscularity), and Jim Yaekel as odiferous villain Fred “Fartin” McMartin, tavern owner and well-known distributor of distilled spirits.

The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown will greet friends and neighbors at the Halcott Fair Saturday, July 20 from noon to 4 p.m.

The annual event will take place in the Halcott Grange hall where the Greene Valley Grange once met and held dinners, dances and other community gatherings. HSM is anxious to hear from former Grangers – from Halcott or other local towns – for a project documenting the aims and activities of this once prominent farm advocacy and assistance organization.

Amy Taylor, HSM Secretary and member of a family that was prominent in Grange circles, will give a program, “The Grange Revisited,” at the HSM hall, 778 Cemetery Rd., Margaretville on Friday, Aug. 23 at 5 p.m. The talk will be followed by a simple supper. Admission is by donation. Bring your Grange stories and photos!

If you have memories and items to share and can’t make the program, please bring them to the Halcott Fair, where HSM will also hold a one-day silent auction on a very special set of photography books by acclaimed photographer Mark Citret.
Collectible Halcott photo book.

Citret lived in Halcott for two years in the early 1970s. The images of people and landscapes he captured there are beautifully rendered in his book Halcott Center: A Catskill Mountain Valley. The book includes an introduction by the famed landscape photographer Ansel Adams, with whom Citret studied.

The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown is searching for photographs, historical information and personal stories to add to its archives and to use in upcoming programs and exhibits.

Of particular interest this year are materials and memories pertaining to one-room schools in Middletown and vicinity; personal stories and artifacts related to the Grange; and images and accounts from local men and women who experienced the Sixties, and in particular 1969.

HSM would like to hear from elders who attended one- or two-room schools in this area through the 1940s. This is part of a year-long research project to document schoolhouse sites (there were as many as 26 school districts in Middletown in the mid-1800s) and to collect photographs, school records and school souvenirs. Interviews with long-ago students can be set up at their convenience. Call Barbara Moses, 586-3630.

A pair of Saturday workshops April 6 and 13 will teach participants how to search for their ancestors, and then how to write about what they’ve found.

The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown will sponsor these workshops, to be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at Fairview Public Library, 43 Walnut St., Margaretville, NY. There is a $5 fee for each workshop. Participants may attend either or both sessions. Please register at history@catskill.net or 845-586-4973.

On April 6, genealogist and library director Doris Warner will teach “Genealogy for Beginners.” This workshop for novice family researchers will help answer the question “Where do I start?” Doris will cover basic and sometimes overlooked sources for vital statistics, residency, and personal information, and will offer tips on organizing data and linking with other researchers following similar trails.