Programs

Programs are held at Our Lady of Fatima Church Hall (Alexandar Road, Delanson) at 7:00PM unless otherwise noted.

Monday, March 18, 2019 --- Part I- Howard Ohlhous ~ Archive & Research Center: From a Dream to Reality

Part II- Bryan Salisbury ~ Blacksmithing & Its Practical Usage for Today

by: Howard Ohlhous & Brian Salisbury
Howard Ohlhous grew up in Duanesburg, and volunteers as the Society Treasurer. He is also the Town historian. Brian Salisbury is a local
blacksmith and an author.

Howard will make a short presentation of photos showing the construction of the Society's recently opened Research & Archives Center.

Bryan will talk about his work and hobby as a blacksmith.

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Monday, April 15, 2019 --- Lime Kilns in Carlisle

by: Chris Keefer
Chris has been involved in Carlisle's Historical Society since its inception in 2007 and became Town Historian in 2015. Chris and her friends have been presenting an annual Bird Tour each May within Carlisle, have found and mapped several lime kiln sites and continue to run this program for the Society.

"Lime Kilns in Carlisle" is a power point program presenting the most recent research and understanding of the use of lime kilns in the 19th century. Program includes description of known sites and some artifacts.

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Monday, May 20, 2019 --- Delanson of the 1950’s

by: Bart McDougall
Bart is a long-time local and has made presentations to the Society in the past on a variety of topics, such as DCS School Days, Area Characters, Volunteering, The Christ Episcopal Church, Delivering Mail & Milk, and Area Streets & Roads, and has always been a delight to listen to.

Bart will talk about his memories of Delanson of the 1950’s.

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Monday, June 17, 2019 --- The Life and Times of Two Indian girls, Kateri and Catherine

by: Lorrie Runnels
Lorrie Runnels is innkeeper of Mariaville Lake Bed & Breakfast and is a library assistant for Schenectady County Public Library. In her spare time she enjoys historical research.

Lorrie will compare and contrast the lives of two Native American historical figures who lived around the same time; Kateri Tekiwatha and Catherine Annennontak. Most Society members are already acquainted with Kateri, but Catherine Annennontak was the daughter of a Huron Bear clan chieftain living in Canada. There will be some fascinating connections and some surprises as Lorrie weaves together their lives, the early history of New York state and Canada, and her own life.

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Monday, July 15, 2019 --- Annual Picnic @ Shafer Park

by: Duanesburg Historical Society

In July the Duanesburg Historical Society has its annual picnic, where we welcome Society Members, Guests, & Friends (Everyone!). As usual the picnic will be at Shafer Park, on Monday July 16th, 5:30 to at 7:00 p.m. (Rain location: Bishop Scully Hall in Delanson)

The DHS will be providing sliced sub sandwiches. Please bring your own flatware, drink & utensils as well as a side dish or dessert to share.

Please call Pat Van Buren at 895-2632 to let her know you will be attending so that we'll know how many guests to plan for.

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Monday, August 19, 2019 --- The Duanesburg Death Trap

by: Carl Weideman
Carl and his wife, Laura, have lived in Duanesburg for the 25 years. They have two daughters, two granddaughters and one great granddaughter! Carl grew up in Glenmont, attended the College of Forestry in Syracuse, and ended his working career with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

This is the story of what some local newspapers called the Duanesburg Death Trap 100 years ago. The so called Death Trap was a bridge, constructed by the Delaware and Hudson railroad in the 1800’s, just one mile south of the hamlet of Duanesburg on the road to Quaker Street. Today that road is a state highway, route 7, which still crosses over the railroad tracks, just as it did 100 years ago. Carl will discuss the fatal tragedies and the aftermath that took place at this site.

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Monday, September 16, 2019 --- Memories of Farms Along the Normanskill Through Princetown

by: Bob Sutton, Jr.
After studying political science and public administration at Central College in Iowa, and at the University of Albany, his first job, as a research assistant at the University of Rhode Island, took him to an island in Narraganset Bay where his wife, Lynda, and he still reside. Though jobs and job titles changed through the
years, the preservation of land has, in one way or another, been the focus of his career.

Over the past 18 years, the creation and development of the Jamestown Community Farm has become a full-time retirement project for Bob. Currently more than 100 volunteers, using sustainable farming methods, grow and harvest seasonally, about 12 tons of fresh local produce which is made available at no cost to food banks, food pantries and meal sites in the Providence, Rhode Island area.

An early love of farming and the land came to Bob as a young boy “helping” to pitch hay with uncles and cousins onto a horse drawn wagon on the Larson and Fidler farms, in Duanesburg.

Growing up in Princetown, the Normanskill meandered through Bob's neighborhood and through his childhood. Running water has ever been a fascination to boys, and this memoir recounts the adventures enjoyed in its waters and along its banks and brings to mind some of the characters (and solid citizens), who lived within a stone’s throw of its winding course.

Growing up in Princetown, the Normanskill meandered through Bob's neighborhood and through his childhood. Running water has ever been a fascination to boys, and this memoir recounts the adventures enjoyed in its waters and along its banks and brings to mind some of the characters (and solid citizens), who lived within a stone’s throw of its winding course.

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Monday, October 21, 2019 --- Town of Duanesburg – Remember When

by: Lenny Van Buren
Lenny Van Buren is a 5th generation Duanesburg resident, and retired from the White-Van Buren Funeral Home in 2005. He has served as Superintendent of the Grove Cemetery in Quaker Street for 25 years and now volunteers there. He is also President of the Duanesburg Historical Society.

The Town of Duanesburg – Remember When? Len Van Buren will present the changing history of buildings and businesses within in the town encouraging audience participation and remembrances.

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Monday, November 18, 2019 --- Collecting Cultural Heritage Information:A Youth Project for the Duanesburg & Mohawk Region

by: Ellen McHale
Ellen McHale has been a resident of Burtonville, Town of Charleston since 1989 when she and her husband, John McKeeby, purchased the Judah Burton home and began to work towards its restoration. She, along with John McKeeby, co-founded the Schoharie River Center, an award-winning environmental and cultural organization that now serves a five county region (Schenectady, Schoharie, Montgomery, Albany, and Otsego Counties). Ellen McHale has been an active participant in the Duanesburg Days planning committee and the Duanesburg Education Foundation and she serves as a Town Councilperson for the Town of Charleston. Professionally, Ellen McHale is the Executive Director of New York Folklore, a position that she's held since 1999. She holds a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ellen will talk about an innovative US State Department exchange program that engaged young adults from our region in a series of conversations and visits with young adults in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia for an ongoing discussion of folklore, folklife, and cultural heritage on two continents throughout the first half of 2019.

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Monday, December 16, 2019 --- Christmas Party and Sharing Christmas Memories


“For it is good to be Children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its’ mighty founder was a child Himself.”

A Christmas Carol ~ Charles Dickens

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