Friends of Middletown Cemeteries will hold its annual spring planning meeting Saturday, March 19 at 10 a.m. at Fairview Public Library’s Community Room, 43 Walnut St., Margaretville.

This informal group of cemetery lovers will discuss projects that might be accomplished over the coming year in the Town of Middletown and contiguous areas. They include completion of the Arkville Cemetery restoration, inventorying headstones at the Margaretville Annex Cemetery, creation of a cemetery driving tour, development of signage and other projects. There are volunteer jobs for every interest and ability!

Everyone is welcome to bring project ideas and information on cemeteries that need our attention.

Can’t come but want to help? Call 586-4973.

The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown, Delaware County, will host the first in a three-part series of Genealogy Lunches Saturday, March 5 at Fairview Public Library, 43 Walnut St., Margaretville. The event will begin at 11 a.m. in the library’s Community Room (the former garage). Participants are encouraged to bring a lunch. Beverage and dessert will be provided. Donations to cover the cost of refreshments will be welcomed. George Hendricks and Barbara Pellett will team up for this first genealogy workshop. They will share information about members of the Hendricks, Kittle, Platt, Hall, Smith and other families, some of which go back more than 200 years in this area. If you have information, photographs, documents or genealogical research sources to share with the gathering, please bring them! The next Genealogy Lunch will be Saturday, April 2, when Jean Ackerley, Karen McMurray and Barbara Moses will discuss Ackerleys, Meads and other families. On Saturday, April 16, Bill and Ann Sanford, and Gene Rosa, will share insights into their families. The entire 2011 HSM schedule of events can be viewed at www.mtownhistory.org, where information on the Society’s projects, and features on special topics, can also be found.

 “Eye on Arkville” on Thursday, July 28 will feature a slide show of historic images of the community that long rivaled Margaretville as the commercial center of Middletown. Postcard collector Lynda Stratton, and local historian Bud Barnes will share their images and knowledge in this evening program at the Arkville Fire Hall.

Autumn programs will include a photo exhibition of remaining Middletown barns and a demonstration by timber framer Wayne Ford at the Cauliflower Festival Sept. 24; a tour of several barns on October 2, and a then-and-now photographic exhibit titled “Time and Time Again” by Michael Musante, who will show and discuss the project at the HSM annual meeting October 23 at the Halcottsville Grange Hall.

Meanwhile, Friends of Middletown Cemeteries will meet Saturday, Mar. 19 at 10 a.m. at Fairview Library to discuss 2011projects, which will include completing the restoration of the Arkville Cemetery. All are welcome to bring project ideas to the meeting, and to participate in headstone inventories, signage initiatives, repair projects and a cemetery driving tour to be developed this year.

While the artists gathered as a group to paint the selected sites, each work is a distinct interpretation of the building or view. Included among the images are Victorian homes and buildings on Walnut Street in Margaretville and Wagner Avenue in Fleischmanns; views of Pakatakan Mountain and the East Branch of the Delaware River; historic homes of the former Pakatakan Artists Colony in Arkville; the pastoral Clovesville Cemetery; maple syrup making and sugar houses in New Kingston and on Hubbell Hill; and the barn on the historic VanBenschoten farm on Margaretville Mountain.

Note cards of some of the artwork created for last year’s auction, handsomely collected in gift packages of five cards with envelopes, will be available for purchase, just in time for the holidays.

For more information: 845-586-4973; history@catskill.net.

There is also a page of links to other sites where researchers can find cemetery listings, photographs and more specific information (like Skene Library’s “Digital Quilt,” a repository of Fleischmanns history.)

Find out about coming events, and see photos from events of the past two years. Learn about ongoing HSM projects, including cemetery restorations and inventories, oral histories, and farm and barn documentation efforts. Read excerpts from The Bridge, the newsletter that is a benefit of membership in HSM, or download the Margaretville Walking Tour.

Press releases, a quick listing of events, and The Tin Horn, a blog containing observations, discoveries and announcements, are posted on the Home Page. Submissions to the Tin Horn from readers who’d like to share their history finds or questions are most welcome and can be offered through the Contact Us feature on the site.

“We want this to be a living site that evolves and grows, so reader contributions are encouraged,” Galusha said. “Middletown’s history is important and fascinating. We hope this website helps people appreciate it a bit more.”

A new exhibit, focusing on the community of Halcottsville, is now on display at the Middletown Town Hall on Route 28 between Margaretville and Arkville. Organized by Town Historian Shirley Davis using materials submitted by area residents, the exhibit in the vintage Bussy Store display case includes a stamp from the former Halcottsville Water Company, calendars from Griffin’s and Hubbell’s stores, a souvenir seashell from “Halcottville,” and many photos and postcards such as Lake Wawaka, Hubbell’s cove, and road construction between Kelly Corners and Halcottsville. The display is a follow-up to the 100th birthday celebration of the Halcottsville Fire Department which was held with great fanfare in September. It can be seen at the Town Hall weekdays during regular business hours through mid-December.