Winter into Spring

Mar 27, 2011 | Tin Horn

As the new season struggles to overcome the old, it’s worth remembering that ‘twas ever thus. Evidence of this can be found in the diaries of James Thomson, a New Kingston farmer who kept track of his family’s activities from 1838 to 1903, a remarkable 65 years, with only a few lapses. The original diaries are in the New York State Historical Association archives in Cooperstown, but George Hendricks photocopied some of the transcribed diaries, and has shared them with HSM.

Here are some entries from late winter, 1839:

March 9, Saturday.
I drawed some wood. Father, Andrew and John (James’ brothers) have made some Sap troughs (in the days before wooden buckets were commonly made by coopers to catch sap from the maples, farmers would make collection troughs of poplar or ash.)

March 10. Sabbath.
It froze very hard last night and was very cold through the day.

March 12.
Was a fine warm day. We have been getting out flax and Andrew has made a sap neck yoke.

March 18.
Has been warm with some rain, we have split rails. We have been up to the sugar Camp with troughs. 

March 20.
Cloudy with sleet and rain. John and father have been cutting wood at the camp.

March 23.
Was a cool day, we built a arch (stone fireplace) for the sap boilers. The sap ran very fast in the afternoon.

March 25.
The ground was white with snow and it did not melt all day. We have been drawing wood with both teames.

March 26.
A fine day, but cool. We cleaned flax in the forenoon, and in the afternoon we tap(p)ed (maple trees)

March 27,
Clear and warm, we tap(p)ed the rest of the Camp and boiled considerabel of Sap.

 

March 28.
Very warm, I made some Sap troughs and tap(p)ed 16 more trees and built some wall.

March 29 I have been building wall. John has been boiling sap.

March 30
Clear and frosty

April,
the first Month of Spring

April 1
Monday was a very warm day. We have got 125 pails of Sap.

April 2.
We carried 54 pails of Sap in the morning.

April 4.
Very warm and clear. We got 30 pails of Sap. Father has been to the mill and Andrew and me have been drawing stones. 

April 5.
The snow is I believe all in view gone. I have put off my woolen shirt and my fingers are very sore with handling stones.

April 7.
Very warm in the morning, it rained a little and the wind changed to the north and became cold.

April 8.
Cold in the morning, but the sun shone pleasant. I have begun to plow.

Because it was difficult to store maple syrup, farm families boiled it past the syrup stage, into sugar. James does not mention how much maple sugar was made in 1839, but the following year, on March 4, he wrote “Very warm all day. They sugared off 33 pounds of sugar.”

It was a hot time in the old barn that night

Feb 19, 2011 | Tin Horn

In answer to the question, “What on earth did people do before TV and computers?,” we offer the following item from the Catskill Mountain News of July 4, 1947:

Six Hundred Attend Barn Dance at Dunraven

About 600 people attended the barn dance at the Frank Trowbridge barn at Dunraven last Friday evening. 550 tickets were sold. There were many who ‘crashed the gate.’ Thirty-five sets danced at one time. A large quantity of refreshments had been purchased but were soon gone. It was a lot of folks, and a lot of fun.

Who were the Odd Fellows?

Who were the Odd Fellows?

Jan 26, 2011 | Tin Horn

An interesting stash of books and records found by Brian Sweeney in 2004 when he acquired a large building on High Street in Arkville sheds some light on a once-prevalent fraternal organization with a pretty strange name: The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF).

The IOOF – the North American chapter of an organization with roots that may date back to the Middle Ages in Europe – was first established in this country in 1819 in Baltimore. Among the theories as to how it got is name is one that speculates that at a time when European tradesmen gathered in Guilds to promote and protect their members, some smaller trades which were not large enough to form trade-specific guilds, collected in Guilds of “odd fellows.”

Odd Fellows Hall, High St., Arkville is now an apartment house

Whatever the origins, the IOOF in this country was formed as a benevolent organization whose mission was (and still is) to “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.” From 1860 to 1910/1920, the “Golden Age of Fraternalism” in America, the Odd Fellows became the largest among all fraternal organizations, even larger than Freemasonry. By 1889, the IOOF had lodges in every American state.

Local chapters began to form in the 1880s. There were 675 lodges in New York State in 1893, seven of them in Delaware County – Arkville, Arena, Roxbury, Delhi, Bloomville and Sidney. Ten years later, there were Lodges at Hancock, Grand Gorge, Walton and Davenport Center. By 1925, when there were 994 Lodges in the State, Stamford, Sidney Center, Trout Creek and Treadwell joined the Delaware District. That year, Arkville had 126 active members, Roxbury 87 and Arena 31.

The earliest membership book found at Brian Sweeney’s Arkville building, which was the meeting hall of Lodge #558, dates back to 1887. A book listing officers from 1889 through 1898 shows that on July 1, 1889, the following men held leadership positions in Lodge #558: A. B. Bookhout, B. L. Searles, C. E. Hood, S. Korn, H. R. Wait, W. H. Griffin, J. W. Redmond, V. Fuller, G. H. Dimmock, E. Redmond, W. W. Biehler, J. Kelly, James More, George Lasher and William Griffin.

In 1893, according to the proceedings of the Annual Session of the NYS State IOOF, W. W. Bassett was Grand Master in Arkville, and F. H. McLean held the same post in Arena, which had 64 members that year. Members advanced by “degrees,” which were conferred with ritual and pageantry. Ornate, silver- and brass-embroidered collars signifying rank and position were found in the Arkville hall, along with catalogues showing costumes, props and ceremonial items that Lodges could order.

Arkville books indicate that membership was $1 a year in the early years, $2 later. Funds were mostly utilized to maintain the building, and to provide “sick benefits” to ill members (in 1903, six members received a total of $51), and to help pay ”burial” expenses for deceased members ($50 was paid that year to the widow of one Arkville Odd Fellow). This may have been one reason why membership skyrocketed in those pre-Social Security and Medicare days.

The IOOF became the first national fraternity to accept both men and women when it formed the Daughters of Rebekah in 1851. It wasn’t until 1904 that Rebekah chapters were established in Delaware County – in Roxbury, Delhi and Walton. The next year, Arena followed suit. By 1925, there were active Rebekahs in 12 Delaware County communities, including Arkville.

The Rebekahs met through at least 1938, according to a member book found at the hall, and they used the IOOF building for their meetings. So did other local groups, including another long-gone fraternal organization, the Knights of the Maccabees. Several song books from this group were also found in the Arkville building, and will be among fraternal memorabilia to be displayed in the Town Hall later this winter.

Intriguing. We’ll likely never know for certain. But as woods walker and writer Peter Manning wrote following a recent tramp with Bovina historian Ray LaFever to “Indian Rocks” in that town, “It’s good to have timeless places that set our imaginations at play.”

If you have a similar story or would like to respond to this one, let us hear from you.

Diane Galusha

3 responses to “Who were the Odd Fellows?”

Sally Scrimshaw
Friday, January 28th, 2011

My husband’s father was in the Odd Fellows and I always wondered what it was all about. I also met a woman at church who was a member of the Daughters of Rebekah. Thanks for the article!

Roger Davis
Monday, July 25th, 2011

I have a lodge by-laws book dated 1915 which indicates the rules of order committee as being B.S. Ackerly, H. Van Valkenburgh and Charles H. Rhymer. This book wa still being used in 1921 as indicated on the first page for a new member certificate. This member was admitted Jan. 1, 1921. Certificate is signed by C. VanValkenburgh N.C. and Ralph Griffin, secretary.

I also have an Arkville Rebekah Lodge No. 461 membership ribbon and badge. How long did this organization remain in Arkville?

Also does anyone have any information on The Knights of the Maccabees, Arkville Tent No. 732? I have some material for this organization but have had no luck finding any information. They may have also used the Odd Fellow building. I have heard that some of their robes were given to the Free Mason’s some years ago, but again cannot confirm anything.

DianeG
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

Bring your material to the July 28 program “Eye on Arkville,” at the Arkville Fire Hall at 7 p.m. Lynda Stratton’s postcards will be the focus, but there will also be memorabilia. Perhaps others will have info on these fraternal lodges and their female arms. There is currently a display at the Town Hall on Middletown fraternal groups, including record books and regalia from the Arkville Odd Fellows.

Bragging rights

Jan 1, 2011 | Tin Horn

While researching the origins of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad (first named the Rondout and Oswego and then the New York, Kingston and Syracuse), Burr Hubbell came across a description of the line from Kingston to Roxbury in the July 4, 1872 Kingston Freeman. It includes tidbits about the hamlets served by the railroad, including Halcottsville (then spelled without the ‘s’) and the valley known today as Bragg Hollow.

“Brag Hollow came by its name in a way that might interest those who like fresh bits of history. In this hollow lived the Hewetts, Hubbles, Boutons and Kellys. The people around the country used to have entertainments called logging bees. At these bees they would bring their oxen, and see which team could pull the biggest log. The folks who lived in the hollow didn’t have such wonderfully good oxen, but they made it up in bragging of their merits, and won many a game by this small gift. That place then began to be called Brag Hollow, and has been called so ever since.”

Another version of this story says it was the height of the corn the local farmers bragged about. Why a second ‘g’ was added, or when the name was changed from Peaceful Valley (as it is on the 1869 Beers Atlas) remains a mystery.

An artful fundraiser

An artful fundraiser

Dec 1, 2010 | Tin Horn

It was Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, but The Commons was alive with vibrant color and the buzz of folks enjoying the start of the holiday season. It was our second benefit art auction, and interest was high in the 27 works created by members of the East Branch Delaware River Plein Air Painters. HSM and the artists shared the proceeds, enough to allow us to erect another historic marker in Middletown in 2011. A big thank you to the talented and generous artists, led by Alix Hallman Travis: Robert Axelrod, Sumiko Patrone, Linda Webb Varian, Margaret Leveson, Patrice Lorenz, Rosamond Welchman, Carol Steene, Nancy McShane and Oneida Hammond. We also extend appreciation to Frank and Helene Manzo for contributing the space; Dale Trethaway for the wine; Marc Levenshus and the Portfolio Café for the sweets and the posters; the Cheese Barrel for the cheese platter; Trish Adams for flyer design; and to HSM board members who so ably orchestrated this event! Happy holidays to one and all!

FUNDRAISER PHOTO GALLERY
Click for a larger view of each image…

Artists-Carol-Steene-Oneida-Hammond-Patrice-Lorenz-Sumiko-Patrone

Artists Carol Steene, Oneida Hammond, Linda Webb Varian, Sumiko Patrone

Carol-Steene-and-Alix-Travis-share-a-laugh2

Carol Steene and Alix Travis share a laugh

Examining-the-artwork

Examining the artwork

Reception-table

Reception table

What’s that tower in your yard?

What’s that tower in your yard?

Nov 11, 2010 | Tin Horn

That’s what I asked Maggie Braton up on Searles Road as I was out walking the dog one Indian summer Sunday. She has an unusual white wooden tower in her neatly manicured yard. An odd sight. Turns out the top of the tower contains a tank capable of holding several hundred gallons of water, pumped up from a well and distributed through a network of pipes and spigots to serve a long-gone pheasant house and, she says, a small herd of cows. A bit of research in the Catskill Mountain News, Ethel Bussy’s History of Margaretville and other sources introduced me to the gracious world of wealthy summering in the Catskills.

Water tower at The Ark

For some time prior to 1902, E. V. Hallock had an estate here. It was known as ‘The Ark,’ and what had been called Kittle Hill (for the family that settled there in the late 1700s) became known as Hallock Hill. Not sure what line of work Mr. Hallock was in, but he quickly made improvements that made it “one of the most pleasant summer resorts in the Catskills.” He could afford to hire G. L. Hull to manage his farm; John Atkin to build a tool house, office and “seed house”; and George Kenyon and Harry Coulter to do carpentry and painting at his property on Long Island. He was likely the one who had the stone gate built at the entrance to the winding road up to the house, and the “hanging gardens,” stone-terraced flower beds and koi ponds on the hillside.

In 1902, Mr. Halleck had a log cabin built at the summit for his daughters and guests to play and party in. During a sleepover that summer, a lightning strike near the cabin split a wooden flagpole in half and struck terror into the hearts of the young campers.

In October of 1904, 50 guests came up by special train and stayed at the Pakatakan Inn in Arkville to attend the wedding at The Ark of the Hallecks’ daughter, Elizabeth, to Army Captain William Rogers. A second daughter, Mary, married Edward Bennett in 1907 and eventually inherited the place and the summering tradition.

Mr. Bennett died in 1928 after a year long illness. His obituary called him a “world traveler,” but didn’t mention an occupation. Mrs. Bennett and daughter Frances continued to spend summers at The Ark there through the 1930s, while another family, the Roneys, rented various homes in the vicinity for their own annual summer sojourns. At some point, Ethel Bussy says, Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Roney acquired The Ark, restored the gardens, and had the “large, rambling” house taken down with the intention of building a stone one that never materialized. Mr. Roney died by his own hand in the 195s.

The Burke family now owns most of the former mountainside estate; Maggie Braton’s parents bought the caretaker’s house next to the charming little water tower in the 1960s. If anyone has photos or facts to add to this brief history, please contact us!

The Ark Residence of E. H. Bennett. Searles Rd. not Arkville. July 25, 1939