MARGARETVILLE – The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown concluded its programming season November 4 with a musical tribute to a home-town composer from the turn of the last century.
Following its annual meeting and luncheon, held at the Catskill Watershed Corp., HSM members and friends heard pianist Kent Brown play ‘Pakatakan Waltz’ and ‘Where the Catskills Lift Their Summits to the Sun’ by Alexander Grant Jackson. A short sketch of the composer, a printer-turned-forester who moved to the Northwest in 1906, was also presented.
The business meeting included the re-election of three trustees and the election of a new member of the Board, Eli Taylor of Margaretville. His fellow Board members are Doris Warner, Pat Moore, Agnes Laub, Josef Schoell, Gary Smith, Michael Fairbairn and Diane Galusha. Barbara Moses has stepped down as a Trustee after several years of service.
Treasurer Pat Moore reported that HSM is in a strong financial position. The operating fund is healthy, and the building fund has grown with significant contributions this year, including $75,000 from the O’Connor Foundation, $50,000 from the Pasternak Family Foundation, a $10,000 matching grant from Josef Schoell, and contributions from many members of our community. To date, 166 individuals, families, organizations, foundations and businesses have contributed a total of $353,888 to this effort.
President Diane Galusha noted that considerable progress has been made this year on the project — an addition to its Cemetery Road hall to house the HSM archives. The concrete foundation and floor were installed back in May. The 1100-square-foot addition is up and enclosed for winter. The walls have been insulated and sheet rocked. The building has been wired, and the electric line buried. The siding is going on soon, to be followed by installation of a heat pump system for heating and cooling both the addition and the hall. A covered entryway is being built. A new septic system is planned, and fixtures for the accessible rest room will be installed in the near future.
A number of programs were held during 2023: A history hike along the former U&D tracks in Highmount was held in April; the 10th Living History Cemetery Tour in June became an armchair tour when rain forced it indoors at the Open Eye Theater. In August, a program on major fires in Middletown was delivered, and in October 70 people turned out for Rick Brook’s presentation on the Hardenburgh Patent and the history of surveying. An exhibit on master builders of Middletown was displayed at the Cauliflower Festival in September.
Donations of historic materials over the past year have included scrapbooks, photos and records on several local families. Nearly a complete run of the Catskill Mountain News for 1968 was discovered in her attic by Anna Blish, who donated them to HSM. They will be digitized and added to the NYS Historic Newspapers website which now holds the searchable News from 1902 through 1985. Encouraged Galusha, “If you discover in a closet or attic old material you may not know what to do with, please call any of us on the board so we can have a look, because once it’s gone, it can’t be retrieved.”
Finally, the winner of the quilt made by Jackie Purdy was Peter Turer of Manhattan and Roxbury Run.
For articles, photos, events and more, visit mtownhistory.org.