news archive | Historical Society of Middletown

History served with soup on April 27

Apr 15, 2014 | news archive

If you like your soup and salad served with a side of history, you’ll want to visit Spillian, the former mansion of the Fleischmann family, on Sunday, April 27 when some of the proceeds from the weekly, all-you-can eat Soup Sunday event will go to the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM).

At 3 pm, Spillian partner Leigh Melander, Ph.D., will share stories and images of the Fleischmann family and the history of the Fleischmanns Park House, newly reborn as Spillian: A Place to Revel, an inn and retreat center, located at 50 Todd Mountain Rd., Fleischmanns.

Leigh has been doing extensive research on the property, working with the NY State Historic Preservation Office to have the property listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Fleischmanns were an extraordinary family, and this property has a very special history that both shaped and reflects the history of the village, including being the childhood summer home of Gertrude Berg of Molly Goldberg radio and television fame.

The Great Room at Spillian, the former Fleischmann family hideaway.

Soup Sunday begins at 4 p.m. This is a weekly offering at Spillian, a prix fixe meal with a bottomless bowl of soup, green salad, bread, sweet treat for dessert as well as coffee and tea, served family style. In the spirit of the Fleischmanns bread lines, born at their Vienna Model Bakery in New York City, guests are invited into the kitchen to be served their soup in a ‘soup line.’

This event offers a glimpse into the elegant, eccentric and fascinating world of the family that gave Fleischmanns its name. Entry is $25, which includes a $5 donation for the HSM roof fund.

For more information, please call 800-811-3351 or email play@spillian.com.

Tituses give geology talk March 29

Mar 21, 2014 | news archive

The first of two spring programs on the theme “Reading the Land” will be held Saturday, March 29 at 1 p.m., when Bob and Johanna Titus will present an illustrated talk, “Middletown: An Ice Age Origin” at the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM), 778 Cemetery Rd., Margaretville.

Admission is $2 for HSM members, $4 for non-members.

The Tituses’ deep knowledge of geology, and their accessible, engaging style have made them popular speakers. Robert Titus, PhD, is a paleontologist by training who has done considerable professional research on the fossils of upstate New York. He teaches in the Geology Department at Hartwick College. His previous books The Catskills: A Geological Guide, The Catskills in the Ice Age, and The Other Side of Time: Essays by The Catskill Geologist, were published by Purple Mountain Press.

Bob teamed up with his wife Johanna Titus, who has a master’s degree in molecular biology, to write The Hudson Valley in the Ice Age, published by Black Dome Press in 2012. Johanna teaches in the Allied Health and Biological Sciences Department at SUNY Dutchess.

The Tituses write regular columns for Kaatskill Life magazine, the Register Star newspaper chain and the Woodstock Times.

The second program on the “Reading the Land” theme will be held Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. when we’ll learn what turned up when a team of archaeologists dug deep to uncover evidence of Paleo-Indians in Middletown. “Arkville Underground” will be presented by Lynda Carroll of the Public Archaeology Program at Binghamton University. That presentation will also be at the HSM hall.

2014 Season Preview!

Oct 16, 2013 | news archive

The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM) will hold its Annual Meeting and chicken barbecue lunch Sunday, Oct. 27 at noon at the Society’s Hall, 778 Cemetery Road, Margaretville.

Radio personality and newspaper columnist “Big Chuck” D’Imperio will be the featured speaker, offering some fascinating facts about New York State history.

Admission is $15 and reservations are required. Call 607-326-4734 to secure your seat.

After lunch of Brooks barbecue chicken, home-made salads and pies, a short business meeting will include election of HSM Board members and a recounting of the Society’s programs and activities over the past year.

The meeting will be followed by the presentation by “Big Chuck” D’Imperio, one of Upstate New York’s longest tenured radio broadcasters. He has been helming his #1 rated morning show on Townsquare Media Radio in Oneonta since 1989. In 2000 Chuck was inducted into the NYS Country Music Hall of Fame as “New York’s Broadcaster of the Year,” and in 2012 he was honored by Daughters of the American Revolution for his contributions to an understanding of history.

Chuck is also a prolific author with six “Upstate Books” on the shelves, including “Great Graves of New York, Final Resting Places of 70 True American Legends;” “Monumental New York, 30 Iconic Monuments of Upstate New York,” and his latest, “Unknown Museums of Upstate New York,” published by Syracuse University Press.

“Big Chuck ” D’Imperio

A selection of his books will be available for sale and signing after his presentation.

A longtime newspaper columnist, Chuck and his wife Trish, an English teacher, have four children and live in Oneonta.

For details on programs and activities of the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown, and to contribute toward the preservation of local history, please visit www.mtownhistory.org.

HSM plans annual meeting and luncheon

Oct 16, 2013 | news archive

The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM) will hold its Annual Meeting and chicken barbecue lunch Sunday, Oct. 27 at noon at the Society’s Hall, 778 Cemetery Road, Margaretville.

Radio personality and newspaper columnist “Big Chuck” D’Imperio will be the featured speaker, offering some fascinating facts about New York State history.

Admission is $15 and reservations are required. Call 607-326-4734 to secure your seat.

After lunch of Brooks barbecue chicken, home-made salads and pies, a short business meeting will include election of HSM Board members and a recounting of the Society’s programs and activities over the past year.

“Big Chuck ” D’Imperio

The meeting will be followed by the presentation by “Big Chuck” D’Imperio, one of Upstate New York’s longest tenured radio broadcasters. He has been helming his #1 rated morning show on Townsquare Media Radio in Oneonta since 1989. In 2000 Chuck was inducted into the NYS Country Music Hall of Fame as “New York’s Broadcaster of the Year,” and in 2012 he was honored by Daughters of the American Revolution for his contributions to an understanding of history.

Chuck is also a prolific author with six “Upstate Books” on the shelves, including “Great Graves of New York, Final Resting Places of 70 True American Legends;” “Monumental New York, 30 Iconic Monuments of Upstate New York,” and his latest, “Unknown Museums of Upstate New York,” published by Syracuse University Press.

A selection of his books will be available for sale and signing after his presentation.

A longtime newspaper columnist, Chuck and his wife Trish, an English teacher, have four children and live in Oneonta.

For details on programs and activities of the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown, and to contribute toward the preservation of local history, please visit www.mtownhistory.org.

Cauliflower Festival is this weekend!

Sep 24, 2013 | news archive

The Tenth Annual Margaretville Cauliflower Festival will bring food, fun, history and a hip new dance craze – square dancing! — to the Village Park in Margaretville this Saturday, Sept. 28 from 10 to 4.

The Catskill Mountain Boys and guest caller John Jacobson will lead experienced and newbie do-si-doers through their paces in as many dance squares as can fit under the pavilion at 3 p.m. This traditional form of down-home entertainment is making a comeback, as evidenced by the hundreds of people who turn out in New York’s Central Park every week to clap, sing and dance to the rhythm of fiddle, guitar and bass.

The Catskill Mountain Boys – John VanBenschoten, Mike Herman and Todd Pascarella – will also perform at 1 p.m. with a set of country blues and folk.

At Noon and 2, Jason Starr will share songs and ballads, from Woody Guthrie to Pete Seeger.

Saturday’s celebration of all things country includes a Tractor Parade that gives current and former farmers a chance to step into the limelight. The parade takes a couple of spins around the festival grounds at 11:30 a.m.

Tractor-drawn hay rides on the Davis farm along the East Branch of the Delaware River will be offered during the day, and, weather permitting, a hay baling demonstration will take place at 2:30 p.m.

Cauliflower, a product for which Catskill Mountain farms were noted through much of the 20th century, will be offered to modern-day fans of this versatile vegetable. Buy a recipe book to help you prepare it, and add “When Cauliflower Was King in the Catskills” to your home or video library. Sales benefit the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce, sponsors of the Festival.

In the History Tent, the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown will mount its exhibit on cauliflower industry history, as well as a display of farm photos from its collection. Anthony and Lynette Liberatore will be in the tent to sign and sell their new photographic history book, “Around Roxbury,” along with a display of images from the legendary Ron Ballard’s collection.

Other exhibitors will share information on the Catskills environment, and on community activities and opportunities to become involved. Vendors will sell everything from woolen items to honey. Artisans will display stained glass, ceramics, original works and other hand-made items.

Food offerings range from the Rotary Club’s chicken barbecue, to pulled pork, empanadas, cauliflower soup and other special surprises.

Family fun includes Strich’s popular pony rides and petting zoo, and face painting and crafts with the MCS Student Art Club.

For more information, visit www.cauliflowerfestival.com

This celebration of authentic rural life is supported by Coldwell/Banker Timberland Properties; MTC; Directive, Inc., HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley, the Watershed Agricultural Council, Pure Catskills and Catskills Family Creameries.

Share your flood story at festival

Sep 24, 2013 | news archive

Students from Margaretville Central School’s Media Class, and from the Catskill Mountain Christian Academy, will set up shop at the Margaretville Cauliflower Festival Saturday, Sept. 28 to record memories and reflections of the 2011 flood that changed so many lives.

All those who would like to share their experiences during the flood, and their observations of how the community and the region might move forward, are invited to be videotaped for a short film to be developed by the students this year.

Students will be speaking with visitors at the NY Rising Tent, where you can also take a survey about flood recovery, examine maps of the village and offer your ideas for resolving recurring flood damage.

The project is part of the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program which was established to provide additional rebuilding and revitalization assistance to communities severely damaged by Hurricanes Irene and Sandy and Tropical Storm Lee. The Village of Margaretville will be working over the next six months to formulate a plan that could be worth up to $3 million in federal funds to continue its recovery.

The festival runs from 10 to 4 at the Village Park.