CHS Meeting Minutes 2011

Cairo Historical Society

Minutes for 2011


Cairo Historical Society
Minutes January 27, 2011
by Sylvia Hasenkopf

Members Present: Robert Uzzilia, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Robert Hempstead, Floyd Hempstead, John Rieker, John Kargoe, Gail Kargoe, Linda Larsen, Robert Cummings, Hillary Higgins, John Gallagher, Ron Hasenkopf, Bob Chappelle, Gail Chappelle  

Bob Uzzilia called the meeting to order at 7:09 pm.  

  1. The minutes of December 17, 2010 – Robert Uzzilia moved to accept the minutes as written. Motion passed by all meeting attendees.
  2. Treasurer’s Report:
    1. John G. presented the treasurer’s report to the members at the meeting. The balance in the account as of December 15, 2010 was $3,785.51. All outstanding invoices had been paid.
    2. Given Bank of America’s monthly fee for maintaining an account, John Gallagher suggested we move our account to the Bank of Coxsackie, who would not charge us a monthly fee. The current monthly fee is $16, which equates to $192 in bank fees per year. Bob U. moved to close the account at the Bank of America and open a new account at the Bank of Coxsackie. All present agreed.
  1. Item Sales December
    1. Book Sales  - 4
    2. Throws sold – 3
    3. DVD sales – 3 Deep Water, 14 Catskill Mountain House.
    4. Donations - $4.04
  2. Membership update:
    Sylvia provided a membership update. An email blast was sent to all current members who have emails. Feedback from a few members indicated that they had not received the email, so it was resent three weeks later. All members who do not have an email were mailed a personal membership renewal request.

    In addition, Sylvia mailed 106 new membership invites to individuals on the Cairo Chamber of Commerce Membership list.

    To date we have received 20 memberships, 5 of which are new members. The Cairo Historical Society welcomes new members Lois Haran, Lucille Bertone, Mike Holdridge, Shallo, Galluscio, Bianchi and Fuscito and the Bank of America.

    Our membership goal for 2011 is 75 members.

    We now have 124 Facebook fans on the Cairo Historical Society Facebook page. Discussions in December and January centered on Benny Richman, the Piano Bridge, Woodland’s Resort, the Cairo Village Market Day, the Bingel Family, Renaissance Faire, Cairo Yearbooks and pictures, the Cairo Meat Market and the Cairo G.A.R. Charter

    Bob Chappelle has established a sister site – Old and New Acra Times – on Facebook. There are very lively discussions on this site and there are 83 fans.

    A brief discussion on membership cards ensued. Costs are being investigated by Sylvia.
  1. Old Business:
    1. Robert Uzzilia, Linda Larsen and Hillary Higgins presented some ideas on the shape and layout of the proposed Cairo Historical Society logo. The preliminary ideas are all very encouraging. It was agreed that for the logo to be effective it must be simple. It was agreed not to use the founding date of the Cairo Historical Society in the logo, given the relative youth of our organization.
    2. Robert Uzzilia has spoken with the three parties for which we have stale dated cheques and they have agreed to replace the cheques with new ones.
    3. Sylvia advised the members at the meeting that she had prepared a grant request to the Bank of Greene County for $2500. The funds were to buy necessary equipment that we need for our projects (laptop and software, scanner, projector, DVD player)
    4. Deed of Gift project – Sylvia advised that Mike Esslie has reviewed the Deed of Gift document and sees no legal issues. John Rieker suggested we should include the Deed of Gift form with our membership drive in future, which was deemed a great idea. A discussion ensued regarding the need to use a Deed of Gift form with copies of original materials. It was felt, after much discussion, that the CHS should protect itself with each donation and have the donor release the item, or its likeness, to the CHS for their use. All present agreed.
    5. Regent’s Submission - Sylvia advised that she met with Mike Esslie, who has been our legal counsel. Revised By Laws and Constitution have been sent to all Directors and Trustees of the CHS for comment. These documents are not needed for the Board of Regent’s submission, but will be needed for the Board of Regent’s inspection. Sylvia advised Mike to proceed with the paperwork for the Board of Regent’s requiring the Director’s and Trustees signatures as soon as possible. We are eager to get our 501(c)3 status as soon as possible.
      Sylvia noted that the CHS needs to establish a date for the yearly meeting of the Society. All members would be invited and are welcome. Year end wrap up reports by the Secretary and the Treasurer would be presented at that time, outlining the efforts undertaken in 2010. It was agreed that this meeting would be held on April 28, 2011 at our normal monthly meeting.
    6. No further report on the historical map from Robert U.
  2. 2011 Projects:
    An in depth discussion occurred regarding new projects for 2011. A few projects were not finalized from last year and will be included in this year’s list. The following projects were chosen.
    1. Cairo Mountain RR Section – Project Leaders Robert Uzzilia and  Robert Hempstead
    2. Susquehannah Turnpike Marker Enclosure - Project Leaders Robert Uzzilia
    3. Cemetery Project Part 2 – the following cemeteries will be digitized: Acra, Allerton, Gayhead, Round Top, Sandy Plains , Union Church. One cemetery from our list of four abandoned cemeteries will be remediated. The Town will be formally requested to add these four cemeteries to the list for Town maintenance that goes out to bid in the spring. Project Leader Sylvia Hasenkopf
    4. Athens/Coxsackie Band – playing 1920’s music - Project Leader Sylvia Hasenkopf
    5. 2 Movie nights - Project Leader Sylvia Hasenkopf
    6. Archival Day and Ice Cream Social - Project Leader Sylvia Hasenkopf
    7. Case’s Speakeasy and Temperance and TommyGuns – Project Leader Sylvia Hasenkopf
    8. Schoolhouse Project – Project Leaders Sylvia Hasenkopf and Robert Uzzilia
    9. Cairo Walking Tour – Project Leaders Robert Uzzilia and Sylvia Hasenkopf
    10. Civil War Reenaction Project – Project Leader Bob Chappelle
    11. Cairo Historical Calendar for 2012 – Project Team Robert Uzzilia, Linda Larsen and Gail Kargoe
  3. The business portion of the meeting was adjourned by Robert U. at 8:32pm. Seconded by all present.
  4. Show and Tell

    Gail Kargoe presented a Church Program from 1938 from the Round Top ME Church

    Gail Kargoe presented a Mauchlin Ware pin cushion with the Catskill Mountain House stenciled on the front. Mauchlin Ware is a wood that is grown in a certain part of Scotland and products made from this wood were very popular in Victorian period.

    Robert Uzzilia advised that Slater’s has sold his business complex to Hannaford. He brought photos from the 1950’s showing what the buildings looked like at that timeframe. The plaza was built in 1955. A wonderful collection. These photos were given to him by Bob Zimmer many years ago. The old Chevrolet dealership, the Imperial 5 & 10, and Oneida Market were stores in the business complex at that time. Bob advises that these photos will be scanned into the Cairo Historical Society’s digital collection.

    Sylvia advised that she is writing an article on Benny Richman for the Greenville Pioneer to be available in the February 4, 2011 edition. Bob C. advised that Benny Richman did the stonework on the Stone Tower on Rte 145, but that he stopped half way because of a dispute over pay. Al Pforte Sr. did the framing on the place and Clinton Harring the electrical. The old beams in the building came from an old barn in Rensselaerville.  Richard Thomas was the original owner. (Actually Robert Thomas was the original owner –SH)

Cairo Historical Society
Minutes February 24, 2011
by Sylvia Hasenkopf

Members Present: Robert Uzzilia, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Robert Hempstead, Floyd Hempstead, John Rieker, John Kargoe, Linda Larsen, Robert Cummings, Hillary Higgins, John Gallagher, Bob Rose, Doug Persons, Mike Lamanec and Roger Maben

Bob Uzzilia called the meeting to order at 7:06 pm.

  1. The minutes of January 27, 2011 meeting – John Kargoe moved to accept the minutes as written. Seconded by Bob Cummings. Motion passed by all meeting attendees.
  2. Treasurer’s Report:
    1. John G. presented the treasurer’s report to the members at the meeting. The final 2010 report was presented and the year end balance was $3,785.51.  The balance in the account as of February 24, 2011 was $3,871.73.
  1. Item Sales December
    1. Book Sales  - 0
    2. Throws sold – 0
    3. DVD sales – 1 Catskill Mountain House.
    4. Donations –  0
    5. Sylvia noted that we have no Greene Co USA DVD’s nor Deep Water DVD’s left in the inventory. She will be ordering more.
    6. She also noted that we have a small number of throws left and tabled the suggestion that we explore having more made. Mike Lamenac and John Kargoe both suggested we may want to explore developing a new throw, aimed at the Prohibition era in Cairo , to tie in with our Case’s Speakeasy and Temperance and TommyGuns events. Bob U. has agreed to investigate pricing with the manufacturer of the throw.
  2. Membership update:
    Sylvia provided a membership update. We received 15 membership dues since the last meeting, which included 3 new members. We would like to welcome Harold and Pat Jurgens, Mary Jo Cords and Michael Lamanec to the Cairo Historical Society.

    Total memberships to date are 37. Our membership goal for 2011 is 75 members.

    It was noted that 21 members from last year have not yet submitted their renewal dues. We would like to encourage these members to send in their membership dues as soon as possible.

    We now have 133 Facebook fans on the Cairo Historical Society Facebook page, an increase of 9 fans since January. Discussions this last month centered around Hill View House (owned by John Cuccia in Cairo), the Acra Tire Shop, Fred Spohler, Maple Lawn in Round Top, Main Street Cairo, Miss Munson’s class of 1957, the Class of 1942, Stone Castle Inn, George H. Turner Funeral Home and Lenks 3 Bears in South Cairo

    Sylvia suggested that it would be prudent to await the Cairo Historical Society logo before sending out membership cards. And so it was agreed by all members present.
  3. Sylvia advised that we received 8 items for our collection. Carol Spohler donated 4 items and Sylvia Hasenkopf 4 items. Today’s news is tomorrow’s history, so Sylvia is encouraging members to donate business cards, letterhead, advertisements from Cairo businesses of today and yesterday. Let’s grow our collection!
  1. Old Business:
    1. Bob U advises that we have now received two of the three stale dated cheques replacements and are hopeful that we will receive the third shortly.
    2. Robert Uzzilia, Linda Larsen and Hillary Higgins presented some additional ideas on the shape and layout of the proposed Cairo Historical Society logo. The project team is hopeful that they can enlist the assistance of Linda Curry to fine tune their ideas.
    3. Grant Request Update: Sylvia advised that the grant request submitted to the Bank of Greene County could take up to 90 days (about mid April). The grant money is targeted for equipment that will help us provide our programs to the public.
    4. Regent’s Submission – all signatures have been received and the packet will be mailed to Albany early next week. It may take up to a year to get the Regent’s Charter.
    5. Sylvia indicated that great progress has been made on the Constitution and By Laws of the Cairo Historical Society. These documents must be in place before the Regent’s Charter can be awarded. She suggested that a committee be put together to complete the project. Bob H., John Kargoe, Linda, Bob U and Sylvia will comprise the committee.
  2. 2011 Projects:
    1. Sylvia presented the 2011 Calendar of Events for the Cairo Historical Society. She proposed posting this all over to let folks know what we are doing this year. First, however, confirmation on the dates from all parties participating in the events are needed.
    2. Cairo Mountain RR Section – Bob U. advises that the project team is awaiting the spring to begin the project
    3. Susquehannah Turnpike Marker Enclosure – Bob U. advises that the project team is awaiting the spring to complete the project. It was felt that enclosures for all four mile markers within the bounds of the Town of Cairo should be made.
    4. Cemetery Project Part 2 – Sylvia has prepared a letter for the CHS President to sign, formally requesting the Cairo Town Board add the 4 abandoned cemeteries, identified in the Cemetery assessment of last year, to their list of 6 abandoned cemeteries that are maintained by the Town. John Gallagher suggested that a map showing the location of all Town of Cairo Cemeteries would be helpful. Sylvia has agreed to complete this map.
    5. Athens/Coxsackie Band – playing 1920’s music – This musical interlude will take place on May 15th, a Sunday. Sylvia advised that the goal is to have the band play in Town Park under a pavilion. The band has agreed to perform, gratis, however will be placing a donation box out for guests.
    6. 2 Movie nights – Sylvia advises that the movies we are going to show this year are Gasland, which about the hydrofracking of the Marcellus Shale deposit and the Catskill Mountain House and the World Around. Sylvia has been in contact with the Catskill Mountain Keepers organization, which is a grassroots environmental organization working to protect the Catskills. They will be providing the Gasland DVD and a guest speaker for the evening. Tobe Carey has also given us permission to use his DVD the Catskill Mountain House and the World Around for our 2011 program,
    7. Archival Day and Ice Cream Social – Sylvia advises that we are targeting July 30th for this program.
    8. Case’s Speakeasy and Temperance and TommyGuns – Sylvia advises that the committee for these events is meeting monthly and already much has been accomplished in putting together an interesting music and demonstration program. Event date is September 17th. See the Case’s Speakeasy Facebook page for updates.
    9. Schoolhouse Project – Sylvia mentioned that she has a lead on the picture of the Rockefeller Schoolhouse No. 5 on Rte 145. This project is still in its early stages. Linda advised that this schoolhouse was known as Stryker’s Gate Schoolhouse No. 5.
    10. Cairo Walking Tour – Sylvia suggested that we postpone the implementation of this project to an upcoming year. Once we have our 501c3 status and the Regent’s Charter, we can then seek the grant funding we need to make this project a reality.  All members agreed to the postponement.
    11. Civil War Reenaction Project – no report. Floyd has offered to reach out to Ron Tunison to see whether he would be interested in participating with his statues on that day.
    12. Cairo Historical Calendar for 2012 – Bob U. stated that the project team has met and have identified some potential pictures for the 2011 calendar. Work on the project continues.
  3. New Business:
    1. Sylvia was approached by Russ Oechsle, an expert on Joel Curtis and his clock factory in Purling, to do a PowerPoint presentation on the topic. All members felt that this would be an exciting presentation, so Sylvia will book him for the July meeting.
    2. Sylvia advised that the Bavarian Manor is willing to take items on consignment, for sale at their establishment. Members at the meeting approved the idea and are appreciative of the offer.
    3. Sylvia tabled the idea that we move the monthly meeting of the CHS from every fourth Thursday to every third Thursday of the month. Gallagher’s Banquet Hall, which has hosted our meetings, has a long term scheduling conflict for our meetings on the forth Thursday. John Gallagher motioned that the meetings be moved to the third Thursday of the month; seconded by John Kargoe. All members agreed.
    4. Sylvia advised that she will not be available next month to take the minutes of the meeting. Mike Lamanec kindly offered to act as secretary for the March 17th meeting.
  4. The business portion of the meeting was adjourned by Robert U. at 8:41pm. Seconded by all present.
  5. Show and Tell

    Hillary asked the members present if the CHS would be interested in old material from the Order of the Eastern Star. She was assured that the material would be most welcome.

Michael Lamenac advised the members that the Fish and Game organization is being resurrected. They are looking for information and memorabilia from earlier years. The Fish and Game organization is heavily involved with local conservation programs and working with children to highten their awareness of hunting and fishing and the environment.

Doug Persons donated an original photo of the ca 1905 Cairo Marching Band to the CHS. Information on the back of the photo indicates that it is negative 225 and was produced by the New York Photo View Co. of East Durham, C.L. Hyde, Artist. Alfred Cutter Webster was the great grandfather of Doug Persons, and is the trumpet player in the far left of the picture. There are 13 members of the band. The photo will be posted to both the CHS and Acra Facebook pages.  

John Rieker brought in a telegraph insulator that he found in Remsen Creek on his property.  

Bob U. presented three photos that he recently acquired of the Violet Lodge. It was located on the site of the old Frank’s Pizza Express on Rte 23. Further investigations of the house currently on the property are needed to see if it is the same house as in the picture. Bob Cummings mentioned that this boarding house was often used by patrons of the Aratoga Inn, when they were unable to get themselves home.  

Linda shared two booklets with the members: Return to the Catskills, by Carl Rausch, a veteran of World War 2, published in 1946 by Acorn Press, Cairo , and also Masonry in Cairo from 1810 to 1935, An Historical Sketch, published by Herald Press, Cairo . It is undated, but it was likely published in 1935 or 1936. Linda has granted the CHS permission to make a copy of these two publications for our collection.  

Sylvia circulated a pamphlet she recently purchased on the Bavarian Manor’s Bavarian Alpine Garden. She also advised that she wrote an article for the Greenville Pioneer this week on the Bavarian Manor. The pamphlet is undated, but likely dates to the 1930’s or 40’s. The pamphlet is full of drinking songs in German and English. She will be providing a copy for the CHS collection.


March 17, 2011

No minutes taken as there was no quorum


Annual Meeting of the Cairo Historical Society
April 21, 2011  

Present from the Board of Directors and Trustees: Bob Uzzilia, President, Sylvia Hasenkopf, VP and Secretary, John Gallagher, Treasurer, John Kargoe, Board of Trustees, Robert Hempstead, Board of Trustees.

Members Present: Ron Hasenkopf, Floyd Hempstead, Mike Lamanec, Ann Clapper

New Members: Ray Houghtaling, Helen Chadderdon, Joe Hauck, Ed Engelhardt

Bob Uzzilia, President of the Cairo Historical Society, welcomed everyone to the Cairo Historical Society’s Annual Meeting.

He asked everyone to bow their heads in prayer in memory of David Clapper, Cairo Historical Society Member, who passed away April 6, 2011.

Bob presented the President’s message, which recognized the significant organizational strides that the Cairo Historical Society made in 2010 and the wide variety of programs, events and projects that were completed as well last year. He felt that 2011 would only bring more interesting historical programming to the Town of Cairo .

John Gallagher, Treasurer of the Cairo Historical Society, gave a brief overview of the financial status of the Cairo Historical Society as of December 31, 2010. He noted that due to the aggressive membership drive and item sales, the Cairo Historical Society has a year end balance of $3,785.51.

Sylvia Hasenkopf, VP and Secretary of the Cairo Historical Society, gave a PowerPoint presentation that highlighted the achievements of the Cairo Historical Society in 2010. The PowerPoint presentation is attached to these minutes. She also presented the 2011 Calendar of Events and 2011 Historical Projects for the Cairo Historical Society.

The Annual meeting ended with a slide presentation of the items received by the Cairo Historical Society as donations in 2010. The slide show lasted almost one hour, and there were lively discussions on each picture in the collection.

The members were treated to coffee, tea and a cheese and crackers platters during the meet and greet after the Annual Meeting. Many thanks go out to Slater’s Great American for supplying the cheese and crackers platter.

The meeting concluded at 9:05pm.

The Powerpoint presentation is available by contacting Sylvia Hasenkopf [email protected].


Cairo Historical Society
Minutes May 19, 2011
by Sylvia Hasenkopf

Members Present: Robert Uzzilia, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Robert Hempstead, Floyd Hempstead, John Kargoe, Gail Kargoe, Linda Larsen, John Gallagher, Roger Maben, Ray Houghtaling, Bob Harring, Carol Spohler

Bob Uzzilia called the meeting to order at 7:08 pm.

  1. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Robert Uzzilia.
  2. There will be no minutes for the March 17th meeting as there was no quorum present.

    The minutes of April 21, 2011 Annual Meeting will be posted on the Cairo Historical Society webpage.  The PowerPoint presentation has been printed and is also available.
  3. Treasurer’s Report:
    1. John G. presented the treasurer’s report to the members at the meeting. The balance in the account as of May 19th is $3,234.09. John has already moved $1000 to the Speakeasy account as seed money for the event. We also paid the throws bill for $497.  John Kargoe motioned to accept the report, Carol Spohler seconded the motion. Treasurer’s Report accepted.
  1. Item Sales May
    1. Book Sales  - 0
    2. Throws  – 1
    3. DVD sales –  2 Catskill Mountain House, 1 Greene County USA , 2 Deep Water.
    4. Sylvia noted that she has 2 requests for the Greene County Historic Homes book and tabled the motion that the Cairo Historical Society buy a small quantity for resale. All agreed.
    5. Sylvia also noted that the price for the manufacture of the throws has increased and suggested that we increase our sale price to $50 per throw for the new throws– still a great deal. After some discussion, all agreed.
  2. Membership update:
    Sylvia provided a membership update. We received 23 membership dues since the last meeting, which included 10 new members. We would like to welcome Bob Cummings, Roger Maben, Hillary Higgins, Mary Lou Eisenhardt, Arnold H. Chadderdon, Ray Houghtaling, Helen Chadderdon, Joe Hauck, Edward A. Engelhardt and Robert Harring  to the Cairo Historical Society.

    Total memberships to date are 60. Our membership goal for 2011 is 75 members. We are at 80% of goal. We have only 8 individuals who have not renewed their memberships to date, however 2 are committed to doing so.  Our renewal rate is 88%.

    We now have 150 Facebook fans on the Cairo Historical Society Facebook page, an increase of 17 fans since the last meeting. We have been posting materials from the A. Wilson Chadderdon collection, which have generated much discussion. Other items discussed this last month centered around the Yonkers Hotel (3rd Base), the Esso/Sutter’s Gas Station, Acra Tire Shop, the Colonial Cottage, Rockface Diner, many school pics from Cairo, DiStefano’s Meats, newspaper ads from early Cairo (Amasa Mattoon, Cairo Seminary and Hervey Cole), High Peak View and many pics from Ray Houghtlaling’s collection.

    Sylvia advised that the 2011 Calendar of Events is posted on the Facebook page under Events.
  1. Sylvia advised that we now have 74 items logged into our collection. Some items are collections in their own right. We are, of course, always interested in more Cairo items.
  1. Old Business:
    1. Bob U advises that all three stale dated cheques replacements are now done.
    2. Robert Uzzilia gave a brief overview of the progress on the Cairo Historical Logo. Hugh and Linda Curry met with the team and three symbols were agreed upon – a train, a mill wheel and falls and the Blackhead Mountain range. It is felt that pencil drawings of the three, artfully put together will produce a compelling logo. Hillary is checking her program to see if she can do this.
    3. Grant Request Update: Sylvia advised that the grant request submitted to the Bank of Greene County was denied as we do not yet have our 501c3 in place. The bank encouraged us to try again next year.
    4. Regent’s Submission – the submission is currently with the Board of Regents and hopefully will be on their June docket.
    5. Sylvia indicated that the Constitution and By Laws of the Cairo Historical Society are now complete. She thanks the committee for working so diligently on them.
  2. 2011 Projects:
    1. Cairo Mountain RR Section – Bob U. advises that the project team is awaiting better weather to begin the project.
    2. Susquehannah Turnpike Marker Enclosure – Bob U. advises that the project team is awaiting better weather to begin the project.
    3. Cemetery Project Part 2 – Sylvia advises that she is awaiting better weather to begin the project.
    4. Coxsackie-Athens Community Band –  Sylvia advises that the Coxsackie-Athens Community Band performance was a great success. The Band played 1920’s music and was very well received by the 41 attendees to the concert. The Band received a standing ovation at the end of the performance. All are hoping they will agree to come back next year. We sold two memberships and 2 DVD’s during the performance as well.
    5. 2 Movie nights – June 16th we will be showing Gasland, which is a documentary about the hydrofracking process used by the natural gas industry and the negative effects this has on the environment, animals and people who live nearby.
    6. Archival Day and Ice Cream Social – No report
    7. Case’s Speakeasy and Temperance and TommyGuns – Sylvia advises that planning is continuing on these two events.
    8. Schoolhouse Project – Sylvia advised that she has heard of a potential source for a tremendous amount of material on the schoolhouses of Cairo and will be following up.
    9. Ron Tunison – no report.
    10. Cairo Historical Calendar for 2012 – Bob U. advises that work on the project continues.
  3. New Business:
    1. Bob H. asked whether we should put a car in the Memorial Day Parade and we all agreed. He will advise folks of the when and the where.
    2. Sylvia advised that one of our members, Phyllis Silva-Keith has donated the cost of a new Blue Ray Player to the Cairo Historical Society. Many thanks go out to her on this thoughtful donation. We do have a number of other equipment and software needs for the Society: LED Projector, Scanner, Printer, a wireless mouse, software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, anti virus software). Should any member be interested in donating any of these, please reach out to Sylvia Hasenkopf 518/821-3852,
    3. Donations

·     Bob U. donated twelve Cairo School Yearbooks (the Forge) to the Cairo Historical Society. Years 1951, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972) We are very interested in obtaining more yearbooks from the years we do not have.

·    Carol Spohler donated a Kedemah Lodge booklet on a Apron Presentation on September 19, 1978.

·    Bob U. donated a Cedar Lawn House booklet. This place was later the Old Rainbow Lodge/House and after the main building burned down, it became Monty’s Pot O’ Gold

  1. The business portion of the meeting was adjourned by Robert U. at 8:46pm. Seconded Carol Spohler.

Show and Tell

Most of the Show and Tell portion was spent looking at the new donations, especially the Year Books.  

Sylvia circulated a brochure from Eva’s Farm.  

Sylvia circulated a work apron from the Welsh and Grey firm of Cairo . The apron was donated by Steven Higgins to the Society. The company building was on Jerome Ave.

Cairo Historical Society
Minutes September 15, 2011
By Sylvia Hasenkopf 

Members Present: Robert Uzzilia, Phyllis Silva-Keith, Michael Sharkey, Helen Chadderdon, Linda Larsen, Robert Hempstead, Robert Cummings, Mike Lamenec, Sylvia Hasenkopf

Robert Uzzilia called the meeting to order at 7:13pm.

  1. There will be no Treasurer’s Report this evening as the Treasurer was delayed at work.

     
  2. Membership update:
    Sylvia provided a membership update. Over the summer we had a spike in memberships – eighteen new members, fifteen of whom were brand new members to the society. We would like to welcome new members Kathy Dean, Michael Schneider, Mary Finneran, Kathy Nolan, Athena Billias, Laurie Jennings, Tracy Lamenac, Ted Banta, Harry A. Lennon, Bill Munster, Clifford P. Beede, Thomas Remmert, Neil and Sharon Schoenfeld, Jim Van Orden, Alexander and Barbara Orin and Patricia Sutter and returning members Mike Esslie, David and Wanda Dorpfeld and Dot Rosenthal.

    Sylvia is pleased to announce that we have surpassed our 2011 goal of 75 members. Can we hit 100 members before year end?

    We now have 166 Facebook fans on the Cairo Historical Society Facebook page, an increase of 16 fans since the last meeting in May. We have been posting material on the Carman family, the Acra Reunion, Third Base, Benny Richmann, various school pics, photos taken on Memorial Day at the parade and ceremonies, on Woodlands and the resort in Round Top. We have also begun to post material received on Archival Day in July – the Harry A. Lennon pics stand out as being a great snapshot of the Lennon family in Purling.

    Also posted to the Facebook page are the three radio interviews that promoted the Joel Curtis, Ron Tunison and Temperance & TommyGuns events.
     
  3. Item Sales: June – August
    No specific sales numbers available. Most items were sold during the various events over the summer which will be covered under project updates.
     
  4. Deed of Gift Register
    Sylvia advises that we now have 196 items that have been added to our collection this year. A special thank you to Harry A. Lennon for bringing in his extensive Lennon collection. Another special thank you to Billy Dorpfeld, who presented the Society with the O. Post (Orlando Post) family bible from 1832 and the 1856 Geil map. Thank you to everyone who is donating.
     
  5. Old Business:
    1. Repair of old marker – Robert Hempstead still has the old historical marker that was broken in the spring when a car went through the guard rail on old 23. The break is at a tricky spot. There is some concern that the marker cannot be repaired. We are awaiting the repair of the culvert before attempting to repair and re-fix the marker. Robert H. to follow up and provide a report at the next meeting.
    2. 29 Railroad Ave. – Robert Hempstead, Ron Hasenkopf, Robert Uzzilia and Robert Hempstead Jr. made a valiant effort and cleaned up the front of 29 Railroad Ave. It looks a whole lot better. Robert H. uncovered the old slate walkway in the front yard that had been buried for years.  We are still awaiting final word on the transfer of the property to the Cairo Historical Society.
    3. We are still awaiting the official Provisional Charter for the State Education Department. We need the official charter before we can proceed with the 501c3 process. Sylvia will follow up.
       
  6. Project Updates:
    1. Gasland – the showing of this documentary was a resounding success. We had 39 attendees, who had very favorable reviews of the documentary. We collected $197 in items sold, donations and memberships.
    2. Archival Day – Although not as busy as last year, some important collections came in. Eleven people brought in items for outright donation (3 items) or scanning (29 items). Collected $76 in items sold and memberships.
    3. Joel Curtis – Russ Oechsle did a fabulous presentation on Joel Curtis. The entire audience of 42 people were hanging off every word and we had 6 original Joel Curtis clocks in the banquet hall. A really outstanding evening.
    4. Ron Tunison – Ron gave a powerful presentation on his civil war sculptures. Very enlightening. An enthusiastic crowd of 32 people attended. Collected $57 in items sold and memberships.
    5. The Temperance & TommyGuns and Case’s Speakeasy events are two days away and planning and preparing for them has been fast and furious.
    6. Cairo Historical Calendar – is done! The theme is Prohibition in Cairo. Cost is $15. per calendar. Thank you Bob U. and Linda Larsen for a job well done.
  1. New Business:
    1. Phyllis Silva-Keith, is joining us all the way from Kirkland, WA. She has brought some wonderful items to donate to the society.

                                     i.      A framed photo and business card of Benjamin Keith, who was born in Cairo on February 10, 1872, the son of Amasa Keith and Henrietta Wells. Benjamin left Cairo, married Edith Holbrook Lee and eventually settled in California. Benjamin was a piano tuner and started his career with Steinway Pianos. He traveled with Rachmaninoff when he was on a concert tour and tuned his piano for him before every performance.

                                    ii.      A photocopy of Benjamin Keith’s business booklet, with recommendations by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Josef Hofman and Rudolph Ganz.

                                    iii.      A scan of a letter from Jimmie Post of Cairo, written on January 1, 1883 to his cousin “Bennie” Keith.

                                    iv.      Benjamin Keith’s baby shoes ca. 1872

                                     v.      Another photo of Benjamin Keith, holding a cornet.

                                    vi.      Five articles on Benjamin Keith in concert.

                                    vii.      Obituary of Benjaim Keith who died in San Luis Obispo, CA on October 26, 1946 from injuries sustained when he was struck by an automobile.

                                    viii.      A scanned picture of Henrietta Wells Keith. Henrietta was born 21 Jun 1845, the daughter of Almern Wells and his wife Mary Thorn of Cairo.

                                    ix.      A first edition of Benjamin Peck Keith’s book of poetry, entitled Spoons of Silver and Spoons of Tin and other Poems, which was published in 1921. Benjamin Peck Keith was born 11 Aug 1856 in Cairo, the son of Edwin S. Keith and Julia Ann Palen. This book of poetry is still used in some colleges in the US as part of their curriculum.

                                    x.      Three photos of Benjamin P. Keith at different stages in his life.

                                    xi.      Obituary of John K. Palen, resident of Cairo, who died 20 Mar 1903 in Cairo. He was born in 1850 in Fallsburg, Sullivan Co, NY, the son of Orman Palen and Caroline Lockwood. He married Fannie Story and was a member of Kedemah Lodge in Cairo until his death.

The Cairo Historical Society would like to thank Phyllis for her gifts to the society and for attending out meeting, all the way from Kirkland, WA! 

Robert adjourned the regular meeting at 8:02pm 

Show and Tell

1.      Michael Sharkey brought in old glass plate camera. Everyone was fascinated with the camera!

2.      Robert Uzzilia brought in the Cairo Women’s Christian Temperance Union Meeting book 1909-1916. Phyllis volunteered to transcribe it for the CHS. Thank you Phyllis.

3.      Sylvia brought in a number of Harry Lennon’s pictures that were made by Addison Lennon and hand colored by Eleanor Worth Lennon, his wife.


Cairo Historical Society
Minutes October 20, 2011
By Sylvia Hasenkopf 

Members Present: Robert Uzzilia, Michael Sharkey, Linda Larsen, Robert Hempstead, Robert Cummings, Mike Lamenec, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Hillary Higgins, Ann Clapper, John Gallagher, Floyd Hempstead, Roger Maben, John Kargoe, Robert E. Dodge, Jr., Carol Spohler, Ray Houghtaling, Ted Banta 

Robert Uzzilia called the meeting to order at 7:08pm. 

  1. John G. presented the Treasurer’s Report for the Cairo Historical Society only, this evening. The Report on the Speakeasy account was not available. There is $1000 seed money that needs to be returned to the CHS account from the speakeasy account. This will bring our CHS balance up to $1225.84. We have spent a great deal of money this year with respect to the acquisition of the house on 29 Railroad Ave (Title Insurance, County Clerk fees, Cairo Sewer District fees, building appraisal, School Tax Collector and repayment of taxes to Walter DeLear, the previous owner, for months in which he paid taxes, but during which we now own the property.)  The total was $1653.06. We have also purchased liability insurance for the CHS and its Officers and Directors in the amount of $607.00. We also have an inventory of items for sale.

Sylvia suggested it may be prudent to establish a Building Fund account, that will handle the expenses of the CHS property. John motioned that we accept this proposal and Carol seconded it. All are in favor.

  1. Membership update:
    Sylvia provided a membership update. In the last month we had two new memberships. We would like to welcome new members Patricia Sutter and Robert E. Dodge, Jr. who lives next door to the CHS property on Railroad Ave. We currently have 79 members.

    We now have 170 Facebook fans on the Cairo Historical Society Facebook page, an increase of 4 fans since the last meeting. We have been posting material on the Temperance & TommyGuns event, various school pictures, more Harry Lennon photos, including a picture of Walker Lennon and his family. Walker Lennon was the builder of the White Sulphur Springs Hotel, which is now known as the Bavarian Manor. In addition, we have begun advertising some of the goods we have for sale. All proceeds go to help the Cairo Historical Society’s programming and the renovation of our new building into the Cairo Historical Society Headquarters.
     
  2. Item Sales: October
    We had a very successful October, in terms of sales. We collected $301.97, which included items to be placed in the Speakeasy account and the regular CHS account. In addition, the Apple Harvest Festival was also very successful. We raised $529.
     
  3. Deed of Gift Register
    Sylvia advises that we have received a fair number of new items requiring cataloguing, which has not yet been completed. She has started to print photos the CHS has received to add to the physical collection.
     
  1. Old Business:
    1. Repair of old marker – Robert Hempstead advises that there are markings on the road near the original location of the historical marker, which indicate the culvert is targeted for replacement. Re-installing the marker at this point would be fruitless until the culvert is replaced. In addition, the marker is broken where the flange connects the sign to the post. Additional assessment of the break needs to be made, in order to assess whether the sign can be repaired. A new sign would cost around $1200.
    2. 29 Railroad Ave. – The transfer of the property on 29 Railroad Ave to the Cairo Task Force is complete. The Cairo Task Force has agreed to hold the property for the Cairo Historical Society until we can get our 501c3 status confirmed through the IRS.
    3. We have received the Charter, finally. John has suggested that the Cairo Historical Society hire an accountant to handle the paperwork, as it is significant. Sylvia will approach Shallo, Galluscio, Bianchi and Fuscito for assistance. John feels it is unlikely that we will be able to complete the 501c3 paperwork by March, which is when we need to file for tax exempt status with the Town for taxes on the CHS property. We will likely need to file the tax exempt status under the Cairo Task Force, who is holding the property for us.

      The Cairo Historical Society Directors and Officers would like to formally thank Mike Esslie of the firm Esslie & Frenia, for all the detailed, pro bono work he did on our behalf this year. Mike assisted us in the paperwork required to obtain our Charter from the Board of Regents. In addition, he provided the legal assistance required to obtain the property at 29 Railroad Ave. Thank you Mike – we couldn’t have done it without you.

      The Cairo Historical Society would also like to thank Ray Pacifico from Pace Appraisals who provided the property appraisal for us at a significantly reduced fee.
    4. Cairo Historical Society Logo – Robert U. advises that there is no update at present. The summer was very busy preparing for the Temperance & TommyGuns Event and the Case’s Speakeasy.
       
  2. Project Updates:
    1. The Temperance & TommyGuns event was quite successful considering it was the first year for the event. Feedback from attendees indicates that everyone had great fun. As we do not yet have all the bills in we cannot determine how successful the event was.
    2. Case’s Speakeasy Event – the evening event was a huge success and we had a sell out crowd of 90 people. The accounting for this event is tied into the day event and we will have a better picture of the success of the event next month.
    3. Sylvia advised that it was decided to cancel the Catskill Mountain House DVD presentation as we have been approached by WMHT to host the Greene County premier of William Kennedy’s Prohibition Story on the 22nd of October. Advertising is underway to actively promote this event. It was suggested that we have a 50/50 draw as part of the event and that we put together a basket of items. We can sell raffle tickets for the basket. Ticket’s for the raffle would be $5 per ticket. Tickets for the 50/50 draw would be $1 per ticket or an arm for $5. Both ideas will be implemented. Hillary has agreed to be the 50/50 salesperson and Carol Spohler has agreed to put the basket together. Carol has also agreed to man the table with Sylvia as guests arrive. Robert Hempstead will man the popcorn table and concession items. Robert U. and Robert H. will decorate the room in 20’s style and Sylvia will hang the Case’s Speakeasy Gang pics and histories of Legs Diamond and Mad Dog Coll. Case’s gang members will be coming in their 1920’s attire.
    4. Robert U. and Robert H. have advised that the railroad ties and rails have been moved behind the house at 29 Railroad Ave. Some of the ties have been stolen. A discussion occurred regarding the difficulty in finding a matched 30 feet section of narrow gauge rail. It was decided that we should cut the 30 foot section into two 15 foot sections and should we find more rail, it can always be added on.
    5. Susquehannah Turnpike enclosures – no update
    6. Cemetery project – Sylvia advises that she has completed 3 of the 6 cemeteries targeted for this year. Allerton (Lakes Mills), Old Gayhead and Sandy Plains cemeteries are done. Acra, Round Top and Union Church are still outstanding.
    7. Schoolhouse project – Sylvia advises that she has been collecting material on the 15 one room schoolhouses that were in Cairo prior to centralization. Her report will be presented in January.
       
  1. New Business:
    1. Sylvia suggested that we establish a building committee that will help the Society plan for the renovation of the property at 29 Railroad Ave. Hillary Higgins, Steve Higgins Sr, Steve Higgins Jr., Robert Uzzilia, Michael Sharkey, Robert Hempstead, Ron Hasenkopf, Robert Cummings, Roger Maben and Sylvia Hasenkopf have all agreed to serve on this committee. The Chairman of the Committee will report back to the Cairo Historical Society on the recommendations for the building.
    2. It was suggested that we obtain an insurance quote for the property at 29 Railroad Ave. Although the building is only assessed at $22,000, we should insure it and have appropriate liability on the premises. Sylvia has agreed to do this.
    3. Sylvia suggested that we establish a membership committee. Hillary Higgins, Carol Spohler and Sylvia Hasenkopf have agreed to sit on this committee.
    4. Sylvia suggested that we may want to Trademark our Temperance & TommyGuns logo and name as well as the Case’s Speakeasy name. She will explore the costs associated with this.

Robert moved to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:45pm. Roger Maben agreed and John Gallagher seconded the motion. 

Show and Tell

  1. Michael Sharkey brought some postcards in of the Catskill Mountain House and the old saw mill at Purling.
  2. Robert Uzzilia brought in various pieces of ephemera that related to gas stations in Cairo – the Central Garage run by Rasmussen and Francel, the Corner Service Esso, run by Paul J. Sutter, the Community Service Center, run by E.R. and F.G. Houghtaling, the Oakland Pontiac Service Station, run by Webster & Dibble.
  3. Sylvia brought in a picture from 2010 archival day showing a troop of boy scouts. It was identified as Troop 49, the Catholic Boy Scout Troop. Troop 43 was for all the rest of the boys.
     

Cairo Historical Society
Minutes December 15, 2011
By Sylvia Hasenkopf 

Members Present: Robert Uzzilia, Linda Larsen, Mike Lamenec, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Hillary Higgins, John Gallagher, Roger Maben, John Kargoe, Gail Kargoe, Colleen Van Wie, Mary Ellen Brink, Jim Rusker, Ed Engelhart, Steve Higgins, Helen Chadderdon, Ray Houghtaling

Robert Uzzilia called the meeting to order at 7:05pm.

  1. John G. presented the Treasurer’s Report for the Cairo Historical Society only, this evening. The Report on the Speakeasy account was not available. There is $427.29 currently. Currently there is $1000 of the Cairo Historical Society funds in the Speakeasy account, which was used as start up funds. Sylvia proposed that the $1000 be transferred to the newly created Building Fund Account. John Gallagher seconds the motion.

    John Gallagher states that there will be three separate accounts:
    1. Cairo Historical Society
    2. Speakeasy Account
    3. Building Fund

         The Treasurer’s Report was accepted.

  1. Membership update:
    Sylvia provided a membership update. Since the last Cairo Historical Society meeting in October 2011 the membership has risen to 85 members. We have exceeded our target by ten memberships.

    We would like to welcome new members Rick and Dana Spohler, The Razor’s Edge, Richard Booth and Elizabeth Brinckerhoff, Paula Lucas, Evelina Clark and John and Rita Carver.

    A discussion ensued regarding the issuance of membership cards. No decision was reached on the issuance of these cards.
     
  1. We now have 171 Facebook fans on the Cairo Historical Society Facebook page, an increase of 1 fan since the last meeting. We have been posting material on the Cairo Central school Fire of 1926 and on Eseck G. Wilbur, who was a Civil War soldier from Gayhead. He died at Andersonville, GA.
     
  2. Item Sales: November and December. We have had a very successful two months in item sales. We sold 4 calendars, 3 Portrait of the Past, 7 Heralds, 1 Historic Homes of Greene County, 4 Catskill Mountain House DVD, 12 William Kennedy DVD, 1 Deep Water DVD. This includes sales made at the Premier of the William Kennedy Prohibition Story.
     
  3. Deed of Gift Register
    Sylvia advises that we have received a fair number of new items requiring cataloguing, which has not yet been completed. She also mentions that she was contacted by a local resident who has a shingler’s bench she would like to donate to the Cairo Historical Society. We will obtain the bench in January.
     
  4. Old Business:
    1. Repair of old marker – Michael Lamanec has volunteered to take the sign to Scott Taylor to see whether he can repair the sign.
    2. 29 Railroad Ave. – We have now insured the property through Grapeville Agency. Many thanks go out to Donna who helped us out.
      Hillary provided a report on the gutting of the main floor of the building which happened December 6. We removed 2.5 tons of material. Structurally the building is sound.  It is roughly 25 feet by 25 feet in size. We are looking forward to starting the planning process.
      Many thanks go out to the following volunteers: Hillary Higgins, Steve Higgins, Steve Higgins Jr., Ron Hasenkopf, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Robert Uzzilia, Robert Hempstead, John Kargoe and Robert E. Dodge Jr. who worked hard that month. Many thanks also go out to Jerry Buckley, who lent us his trailer.
    3. 501c3 – Sylvia has met with Tom Fucito, who has explained the 501c3 process. Sylvia will complete the paperwork and Tom will review it and offer suggestions. There will be a small fee for this service.
    4. Cairo Historical Society Logo – Robert U. advises that the CHS logo is still in development. Sylvia suggested that it would be important to keep the logo simple and easily usable on letterhead, membership cards and the like. Robert is looking at using an image of a train, of a mill, of the mountains behind Cairo.
    5. Sylvia advises that she hasn’t had the opportunity to work on trademarking Temperance & TommyGuns or Case’s Speakeasy.
       
  1. New Business:
    1. Hillary Higgins has agreed to be the chair for the Building Committee. The Committee met and discussed different initiatives to raise funds for the building renovations. The Committee has decided to run a fund raising dinner, which will be on February 18, 2012 from 5-7pm. Take out orders available. It will be called the State of the Union Dinner. Adult dinners will be $18 and children $10 if aged 10 and under. Ron Hasenkopf will be the head chef for the evening. Dinner menu: Roast beef, ham, mashed potatoes, honey glazed carrots, buttered green beans, salad, apple pie for dessert. Coffee, tea, water, soda. Tickets available through the Cairo Town Clerk’s Office. Individuals who would like to volunteer to sell tickets or assist that evening should contact Hillary at 518-622-0756.
    2. Sylvia is proposing a Christmas Sales initiative at Slater’s on December 18th.  If anyone would like to assist, please call her.
    3. Sylvia advised that she has located a large collection of letters of Eseck G. Wilber, a civil war soldier from Gayhead. Eseck died at Andersonville Prison. The original letters are located at Rice University in Texas. Sylvia has obtained permission to make copies of the letters for the Cairo Historical Society collection. The cost for copying the letters, all 60+ of them is $50. Phyllis Silva Keith, one of our members, sponsored the acquisition of these important documents. Thank you Phyllis!
    4. Sylvia presented a proposed Schedule of events for 2012. Further discussion will be had at a future meeting.         
       
  2. Project Updates:
        a.   Susquehannah Turnpike enclosures – no update, moved to spring of 2012
        b.   Railroad section - no update, moved to spring of 2012
        c.    Cemetery project – Sylvia advises that she has completed all 5 of the 6 cemeteries targeted for this year. Allerton (Lakes Mills), Old Gayhead, Acra, Union Church and Sandy Plains cemeteries are done. Round
               Top is still outstanding and will be completed next year. Sylvia will print the photos and create the cemetery binders like last year.
        d.    Schoolhouse project – Sylvia advises that she has been collecting material on the 15 one room schoolhouses that were in Cairo prior to centralization.
        e.    The William Kennedy, A Prohibition Story premiere was a huge success. We had over 60 people attending. We raised $101.50 in food sales, $48.50 in the 50/50, $100 in the Raffle, $114 in Item sales, and 2 new
               members.
        f.    The What’s in Your Trunk lecture, hosted by Sylvia, was also a great success. We had almost 18 attendees and the lecture went 2.5 hours, with many questions. 

Robert moved to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:32pm. John Kargoe seconded the motion. 

Show and Tell:

1) Joe Hauck donated a book on Hudson River Indian tribes for the new CHS  headquarters.


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