The Latest on the Hudson Valley and Catskills

Beacon Bounces Back

2012-01-21T18:12:00.000-08:00

Once an important strategic point in the Revolutionary War—both town and mountain got its name from the signals lit atop the mountain to warn the Continental Army of approaching British troops—the city of Beacon now thrives as a center for the arts.

The city’s fortunes haven’t always been so upbeat. “Urban renewal” caused the demolition of important historic buildings in the 1960s. During the following decade, the closing of many factories due to economic decline precipitated an economic downturn that lasted until the late 1990s.

Enter the artists and their visions. The arrival of Dia:Beacon, the largest museum of contemporary art in the country, in what had been a Nabisco cracker box factory generated both an artistic and a commercial renaissance in this Dutchess County city. Residents of artistic enclaves downstate began relocating to Beacon. A variety of art galleries followed in Dia:Beacon’s wake, including Fovea, the Van Brunt Gallery, and Hudson Beach Glass. Hudson Beach Glass, founded by well-known glass artist John Gilvey with three partners, is located in a renovated former firehouse, itself a work of art. Just as the city of Hudson, some sixty miles north, arose from the doldrums to refashion itself as a destination for antiques aficionados, so Beacon has been transformed into a mecca for the arts.

Friendly cafés and restaurants cater to visitors and residents alike. Those interested in history and hiking have their choices of historic homesteads and hiking trails, including hikes up Mt. Beacon itself.

On the opposite side of the river in Newburgh, a statue of General Washington looks across and surveys Beacon and its mountain. Could he ever have envisioned the future history of this amazing city?

WHUD meteorologist Jim Witt's Hudson Valley Weather Calendars

2010-12-18T10:26:00.000-08:00

The New Year is almost here! Do you want a gorgeous new calendar that (1) features a stunning photo of the Hudson Valley each month? (2) gives you the long-range weather forecasts? (3) supports a good cause? Well, look no further. Each year WHUD meteorologist Jim Witt teams up with local photographer Joe Deutsch to produce these lovely wall calendars. It's a labor of love for all involved, for the proceeds all go to the Hope for Youth Foundation.
    How accurate are Jim's long-range forecasts? I have mine on my kitchen wall and can assure you, the December forecasts haven't disappointed!
    Each fall up to the end of the year Jim goes out and tirelessly promotes the calendars with personal signing appearances. This morning I caught up with him (pictured above) in Fran's Hallmark in Monroe. The owners of this store have been staunch supporters of the Hope for Youth Foundation for many years, Jim told me.
    To purchase your calendars, visit http://www.whud.com/ for a list of stores that carry them (cost: $8.00 each). Or to order by mail, send $10 per calendar (includes shipping) to:

The Hope for Youth Foundation Inc.

P.O. Box 8

Buchanan NY 10511

Make your check payable to Hope for Youth Foundation.
The calendar also makes a great gift! Thank you for supporting this cause.

Getting to know Cold Spring

2010-09-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I drove over the Bear Mountain Bridge on a quest to discover something about the treasures that Putnam County has to offer--all in aid of getting some material for our book on the historic Hudson Valley and for my project on Hudson Valley architecture. First stop: the lovely village of Cold Spring, which turned out to have so much to offer that it ended up being the only stop for the day. Here I'll share a few of my photos of Cold Spring that I got on my first visit.

Cold Spring is just north of Garrison. Drive up Route 9D and turn left when the signpost points to the right for Route 301. You'll find yourself driving down Main Street, and what an amazing Main Street it is. Even if you're not into antiques and the other goodies that the shops have to offer, the buildings themselves are a feast for the eyes, and you're not likely to resist visiting one of the many cafes to try their special baked goods and coffee. I enjoyed a raspberry scone and a pumpkin-flavored coffee at the Cup-o-ccino Cafe.

A public Parking Lot is well signposted, but on weekends and holidays you can also park for free at Cold Spring's railroad station. One advantage to this is that you're right across the road from one of Cold Spring's main historic attractions, the Chapel of Our Lady, which was originally build in 1833 as a place of worship for the West Point Foundry workers, many of whom were Irish. Perched high above the river, the front porch of the chapel has stunning views of the Hudson River Gorge, including the awesome Storm King Mountain to the north and the West Point Military Academy to the south.

Kayaking and culture--the adventurous can rent (or bring their own) kayaks for a trip on the Hudson, and for those who enjoy theater and music, Cold Spring has plenty to offer. Nearby Boscobel features a renowned Shakespeare Festival each year as well. On Saturdays Cold Spring hosts a farm market on the grounds of the Butterfield Hospital, where you can buy fresh produce, home-baked fresh bread, local cheese and wines, and flowers.

And for those who, like me, drive over the Bear Mountain Bridge to get to Cold Spring, there is the bonus of knowing that you have driven on the Appalachian Trail! This famous long-distance hiking trail, which stretches from Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine, actually goes over the beautiful Bear Mountain Bridge.

Catskill Volunteer Fire Departments Show Their Stuff

2010-08-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we attended the annual Open House of the Mountaintop Historical Society at their beautiful campus in Haines Falls. Held each year on the last Saturday in August, the Open House is a great opportunity for anyone to visit the MTHS campus and its buildings, learn about the Society's work in researching, preserving, and disseminating the history of this area of the Catskills, enjoy some entertainment, and meet the artists, craftspeople, and frmers who display and sell their work. Anton and I met fellow photographers Francis X. Driscoll and Larry Gambon and caught up on their latest news, and we also had the pleasure of meeting Nina Lawford-Juviler, publisher of the lovely regional magazine Kaatskill Life.

Each year's Open House features some interesting novelty, in the form, for example, of an art exhibit or a particularly significant lecture. This year visitors were treated to an outdoor exhibit of vintage historic fire engines from the fire departments of the neighboring towns. Some of the engines really did look "historic"--remnants of a bygone era--while others were from more recent times. According to Roger Benjamin, the amazingly knowledgeable volunteer who was only too pleased to tell visitors all about these engines, all of them were built with a quality to be envied by vehicle manufacturers today. These were times when built-in obsolescence was unheard of and things were made to last.

Mr. Benjamin is a member of the H.D. Lane Volunteer Fire Department in Phoenicia--the newest fire department in Ulster County--and he told me about how dificult it is to recruit volunteer firefighters these days. Residents moving away, the increasing proportion of second-home owners to full-time residents--these and other factors all take their toll. Consequently, the individual fire departments frequently depend heavily on mutual aid, where several departments come out to help.

I'm posting some of my photos from yesterday in hopes that they may inspire some readers to consider volunteering their services for these incredibly dedicated fire departments.

Farewell to a Woodstock Icon

2010-08-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

I took a ride up to Woodstock yesterday to check out possible photographic subjects for my book on the Hudson Valley and Catskills and, at the same time, to enjoy a walkabout lecture by local historian and author Michael Perkins on the history of Woodstock and its buildings. Thanks to the Catskill Mountain Club for advertising this very interesting event! Michael is knowledgeable and speaks with an obvious passion for his topic. For me it was particularly amazing to see a building that had been relocated to Woodstock from one of the villages that had been flooded to create the nearby Ashokan Reservoir, which supplies water to New York City.

Alas, it was also an occasion to bid farewell to Woodstock's independent bookstore, The Golden Notebook. In an era when megachains and the Internet rule everything, it's great to see an indie bookstore flourishing and sad to note when one closes its doors forever, especially when it's located in such a uniquely individualist town as Woodstock. Well, possibly not forever? Barry Samuels, who owns The Golden Notebook with his partner Ellen Shapiro, says it's been a good run and hopefully someone else will pick up the mantle and continue the tradition of an independent bookstore in Woodstock. In the meantime, The Golden Notebook will close at the Labor Day Weekend after more than thirty years of serving the residents of and visitors to Woodstock. Thank you for the thirty-two years, Barry and Ellen.

New York State Parks Reprieved

2010-06-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

New York's Governor Patterson has arranged a deal to reopen the state parks and historic sites that were recently closed because of budget cuts. The announcement came just in time for Memorial Day Weekend--fortunate timing because many such sites schedule events commemorating those who have given their lives in service of our country.

So, back I went to New Windsor Cantonment in Orange County, which was holding a variety of Memorial Day events in the course of the weekend. Yesterday (Monday) afternoon began with a brief prayer service at the graves of two Revolutionary War soldiers (New Windsor is an important locale in Orange County's Revolutionary War history), and the participants were dressed in period costume. As we all assembled at the grave site, a complement of soldiers, their marching skillfully coordinated by a drummer, followed by an army chaplain and a woman, proceeded to the site.
The prayers included Psalm 46 (appropriately--it speaks of God putting an end to wars: "Be still and know that I am God") and the Lord's Prayer, and the lady put bouquets on each of the graves. At the conclusion, the soldiers marched out again, but not before their spokesperson invited all present to a concert of patriotic music to be held in the Temple Building, a replica of a building that originally stood on that site in Revolutionary times.
The music was provided by balladeer Linda Russell, a historian who has obviously delved into the history of these songs and not only sang them but also played them, sometimes on period instruments. It was great fun for all because Linda invited the audience to sing along on everything from "Yankee Doodle Dandy" to the best-loved
songs of George M. Cohan. This is a big part of what "doing history" is about these days: not only the Great Men and the Great Deeds, but also uncovering what the ordinary folk were doing. Thanks to all who volunteered their afternoon to dress in those very warm costumes for our benefit and hold a prayer service for our nation's war dead, and to Linda Russell and the young lady who sometimes acompanied on violin for providing the spirited music.
The Purple Heart Hall of Honor also stands on this site, nd it was good to see so many peole, including families with children, visiting to learn about this aspect of U.S. history.
I've yet to make it to Knox's Headquarters, which is just down the road. Watch this space--one day I'll send you a report from there!
Be sure to visit my website fstopnancyphoto.com for some great photos, especially of New York and New England! Interested in photography? Check out my photoblog on that site!

Catskills Cuisine

2010-05-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

At least once a year Anton and I enjoy a day trip to the Catskills (Ulster and Greene Counties) that includes a joint photography venture in selected iconic spots, followed by dinner in one of our favorite restaurants. Recently our shooting day began at a very off-the-beaten-path waterfall (good choice for overcast conditions), proceeded from there to the Ashokan Reservoir where I made this image before the wind storm came in and nearly blew us off the causeway, and ended at the popular Diamond Notch trail. We rounded off our day with a drive up some fairly major roads that take you through the historic Catskill towns of Haines Falls (home of the Mountain Top Historical Society), Hunter, and Tannersville, where we stopped to eat at what, for us, is the gem of this picturesque town, the Last Chance Cheese & Antiques Cafe. "Cafe" is a bit too modest--this is a cozy restaurant that features delicious food, outstandingly friendly and efficient service, and an awesome selection of beer. There is also a cheese counter with an awesome selection where you can purchase cheese to take home--this trip we bought some Danish fontina along with many other examples of "Catskilliana" as something memorable from your visit. The Last Chance Cheese & Antiques Cafe is located on Route 23A (Main Street) on the --right-hand side as you are traveling toward the New York State Thruway--so that if you're heading toward the Thruway you can enjoy your meal and then batten down for the drive through the Kaaterskill Clove while reflecting on why this geological feature struck such awe into our 19th-century ancestors.

New York State Park and Historic Site Closures

2010-05-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to New York State's budget crisis, a substantial list of state parks and historic sites are closed, or have their operations reduced, as of tomorrow. In some cases the result is as relatively trivial as a reduced golf course season; in others, entire historic sites are simply being closed. It may be hyperbolic to use a word like "tragedy," but it's certainly exceedingly unfortunate--and, I think, a very great mistake--to be so shortsighted as to deprive people of the opportunity to learn about our history through visiting these sites. Several of them are connected with the Revolutionary War and, in addition to the signs and plaques explaining what's there, have also offered reenactments with people dressed in period costumes.

So, today I went and photographed one such site that I had never visited before--the New Windsor Cantonment in Orange County, not too far from where I'm now living. This is where General George Washington moved his army for winter quarters in 1782-1783. These photos show a wide-angle view with the old monument and a tomb of an Unknown Soldier.
Another historic site to be closed in this area is the Stony Point Battlefield, a
strategic Revolutionary War site that overlooks beautiful Haverstraw Bay and includes the Stony Point Lighthouse.
F
arther upstate, in the Adirondacks just outside Lake Placid, one casualty of the closings is the John Brown Historic Site commemorating the famed abolitionist.
I have no intention of getting involved in political commentary in my blog, but I can't post this "in memoriam" without expressing the hope that the November elections result in some common sense in Albany. The people of New York deserve that.