The annual meeting of Historical Society of Middletown members and friends will be held Saturday, Nov. 4 at noon at the Catskill Watershed Corp. on County Road 38 (Arkville cut-off road). PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE – the event will NOT be held at the Margaretville Fire Hall as previously reported.
Mary’s Cookin’ Again will cater the luncheon. Reserve your seat ($20) by October 27 by calling 845-586-4973.
Following the business meeting, which will include an update on the archives construction project and reports on HSM activities and finances over the past year, there will be a short musical history program. Accomplished keyboardist Kent Brown of Margaretville will perform “Pakatakan Waltz,” written in 1900 by Alexander Grant Jackson.
Jackson was a musician and editor of the Margaretville Messenger before he moved to Oregon. A copy of the sheet music for the waltz was recently donated to the HSM archives.
The musical interlude will be followed by a brief profile of the composer, and of W. A. Laidlaw, to whom Jackson dedicated the piece.
For more information on HSM and its activities, as well as many history articles and photographs, visit mtownhistory.org.