January 17, 2022
The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM) is seeking the support of history lovers in its efforts to preserve and make accessible 12 more years of the Catskill Mountain News, and 25 issues of other local newspapers, most from the 19th century.
The rare extant early newspapers, preserved in the HSM archives, include the Utilitarian, the Margaretville Messenger, the Griffin and Fleischmanns Herald, the Arena Enterprise and others.
Covering eastern Delaware and western Ulster Counties, the Catskill Mountain News ceased publication in January 2020. HSM had previously microfilmed and digitized the News from 1902 through 1973 and it quickly became one of the most frequently searched titles on NYSHistoricNewspapers.com. This phase of the preservation project will add 1974-1985 to the online collection.
The ‘70s and ‘80s saw noticeable change in the Catskills, when family farms shut down and the economy shifted to accommodate weekend residents. You could go downhill skiing at now-closed centers in Andes and Phoenicia and join thousands of revelers at fairs and festivals that were once big draws in Arkville and New Kingston. The obstetrics unit closed at Margaretville Memorial Hospital, and the Delaware & Ulster Rail Ride brought new life to an abandoned rail line.
Weather calamities and fires, like the one that gutted the center of Margaretville’s Main Street in 1977, were followed by revitalization. Long time businesses closed and new ones emerged. From election results to obituaries, accidents to school sports, the News, owned by the Sanford family, covered it all. Its readers most appreciated the reports of neighborly comings and goings provided by community columnists.
Clarke Sanford typing out the News.
Explained HSM President Diane Galusha, “This treasured resource is invaluable to genealogists with family connections here, and to researchers with an interest in the evolution of the Central Catskills region. It is also vulnerable, as there is only one set of bound volumes containing these original newspapers. HSM is collaborating with Fairview Public Library where they are stored to have them microfilmed and digitized so that anyone, anywhere can search or browse through them well into the future.”
Donations to help with this effort may be sent to HSM, PO Box 734, Margaretville, NY 12455. Please include the notation “CMNews Project.”