Cairo Historical Society Minutes January 16, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members
Present: John Kargoe, Gail Kargoe, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Ed Englehardt, Ray
Houghtaling, Robert Uzzilia, Elton Rouse, Ron Hasenkopf, Ann Clapper, Mary Lou
Nahas, Nick Nahas, John Gallagher
President, John Kargoe called the meeting to order at 7:07 p. m. with the Pledge
of Allegiance.
The
November 21, 2013 and December 19, 2013 meeting minutes were reviewed and
approved. Ed Engelhardt made a motion to accept the minutes as written and
Elton Rouse seconded the motion.
The Treasurer advised that
there is no treasurer’s report this evening. He advised that the Balance
sheet and Income Statements for 2013 are almost complete. He needs the
inventory count of our sales products. Sylvia will provide the info.
Sylvia advised that she
followed up on the bank charges that appeared on the last bank statements.
They were Intuit bank charges and they have been reimbursed by the company.
Sylvia advised that the $25 cheque from the Department of the Aging has been
received.
Membership update:
Our membership for 2014 is currently 51 members. Included in this total are
three new members: James Amodeo, Abbie Test and Kurt and Kathleen Spohler.
The CHS welcomes these members. Our renewal rate is 47%.
We currently have 525 Facebook members, an
increase of 53 members since November. Discussions this month have centered
on pics from school classes, A Victorian Tea with Charles L. Beach, Spoke
shaves, and various ads from the Cairo Herald.
Collections: Sylvia has been working on cataloging the CHS collection. For
2014 we have over 300 items cataloged. She brought the index in for everyone
to look at.
Item
Sales: 6 Eseck G. Wilber books,
Old
Business:
a)John K. confirmed that the CHAR500 has been
filed with NYS.
b)Sylvia advised that Rita Carver has produced a
tentative logo for the CHS and the Logo Committee will be meeting to discuss
once everyone is back in town.
c)John Kargoe advised that he will be signing the
land papers for the Cairo Depot land at Mike Esslie’s office on Monday. He hopes
to put together a Railroad Committee soon to begin the planning process for the
project.
d)Sylvia advised that the planning and designing
for the CHS HQ’s is well underway. She expects that Kaaterskill Associates will
be presenting the preliminary designs to the Planning Board in the next few
weeks.
e)Sylvia advised that the Collections stamp has
been ordered.
f)Sylvia advised that she has not had time to
pursue wider distribution of the Eseck G. Wilber book.
Projects Update:
a)Sylvia advises that applications for the 2014
Hometown Heroes Banners are now available.
b)A Victorian Tea with Charles L. Beach is
scheduled for January 18, 2014 at Gallagher’s at 2:00pm. Joe Capobianco will do
a theatrical performance as Charles L. Beach followed by the Victorian Tea. Gail
Kargoe advises that we have sold 93 tickets already, a sell out crowd. Gail
wanted to acknowledge the generosity of the following businesses who are
supplying cash or materials for the event: B&B Forest Products ($100), US Paper
Counters ($75), Hannafords ($150 worth of groceries), Price Chopper ($25 gift
card), Karen’s Flower (table centerpieces for $50), Rooster Doodle Café and
Bakery (100 scones). Gail will be using china primarily from her own collection
and that of M.a. Tarpinian and other ladies in the community are also helping
out.
c)Planning for the State of the Union Dinner will
begin directly after the Victorian Tea.
New
Business:
a)No new business
Ann
Clapper moved to close the business meeting at 7:52 and Ed Englehardt seconded
the motion.
Share
Session:
1)
Sylvia presented a binder of pictures of the United Methodist Church which
included maps of Main St. Cairo from 1856 and 1867. This church was initially
the Cairo Presbyterian Church and this particular church building was
constructed in 1835. The Presbyterian Church was founded by Daniel Sayre,
Cairo’s first town supervisor at his home in 1799. The Cairo Methodist Church
appears on the 1856 map on Bross St. The Cairo Methodist Church appears at two
locations on the 1867 map – on Bross St and at the site of the current Masonic
Hall on Main St. This building was the Cairo Baptist Church on the 1856 map. In
1952 the Cairo Presbyterian Church and the Cairo Methodist Church merged and the
United Methodist Church was born. The United church decided to use the
Presbyterian Church building and put the Methodist church up for sale. It was
bought by Kedemah Lodge.
Cairo Historical Society Minutes February 20, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Gail Kargoe, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Ray Houghtaling, Robert Uzzilia, Elton Rouse,
Linda Larsen, John Rieker
President, John Kargoe called the
meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The
January 16, 2014 meeting minutes were reviewed and approved. Elton Rouse
made a motion to accept the minutes as written and Gail Kargoe seconded the
motion.
There is no Treasurer’s
Report.
Membership update: We have 73 members, up 15
members from the January report. Our renewal rate stands at 65.69%. We have
four new members to date in 2014.
We currently have 579 Facebook members, an
increase of 54 members since January. Discussions this month have centered
on the 2014 Hometown Heroes Program, the death of Artie Schlobaum, who was
remembered by many CHS Facebook members with great fondness, the Cairo
Railroad, old resorts in Acra, Eva’s Farm, Durso’s shoestore.
Collections: No new collections additions, however two buttons and two
medals for Fred J. Meyer, a former Cairo resident and a Spanish-American War
veteran are available for purchase on Ebay. Phyllis Silva-Keith, a member of
the Cairo Historical Society, has purchased the two buttons and one of the
medals and is donating them to the Cairo Historical Society. Many thanks are
extended to Phyllis for her generosity. There is one last medal of Frederick
J. Meyer that the seller on Ebay has posted. Asking price is $500. Sylvia
asked the members present whether the CHS should acquire the medal. After
much discussion it was decided that the membership is willing to donate $100
towards the purchase of the medal and Sylvia will extend an invitation to
the CHS Facebook membership to see whether there are any other individuals
interested in contributing to the purchase of the medal. Sylvia will also
see if she can negotiate a lower price on the medal with the seller.
Item
Sales: 1 Greene County Historic Homes, 1 Greene County USA DVD, 1 Cairo
Mountain House, 1 Capitol Hill Fire, 6 Eseck G. Wilber books. As we sold the
last Greene County Historic Homes book, 6 additional books were ordered. The
inventory of all our items for sale has been taken and forwarded to John
Gallagher for his year end report.
Old Business:
a)Sylvia advised that Rita Carver is still working on the final logo
layout.
b)Sylvia advises that she spoke with John G. and he has advised that he has
filed the NYS Tax Exemption request.
c)Sylvia advised that the Collections stamp has arrived and will be used to
identify all items in our collections.
d)Sylvia advised that she has not had time to pursue wider distribution of
the Eseck G. Wilber book.
Projects Update:
a)Sylvia advised that a number of applications for Hometown Heroes Banners
have been received. She suggested that the CHS may want to sponsor a few banners
this year. There was a general agreement with this idea and the issue will be
re-tabled in the March monthly meeting.
b)The State of the Union Dinner was highly successful this year. We served
96 dinners, not including the volunteer dinners and we raised $1948.37 for the
CHS Building Fund.
New Business:
a)John Kargoe provided an overview of the first meeting of the Cairo RR
Repot committee. Elton Rouse, John Kargoe, Robert Uzzilia and Ed Englehardt met
to begin discussions on the project. John Kargoe provided the minutes of the
meeting which are attached to these minutes. Ray Houghtaling expressed a concern
that we not have two major construction projects underway at the same time. John
K. advised that the Cairo RR Depot Committee will be doing fact gathering and
preliminary fund raising ideas at this juncture. The focus of the CHS is to
complete the CHS Headquarters before we begin any real fundraising efforts on
the Depot. John K. felt that the CHS could move forward with laying the tracks
on the property. Doing this we would be making the community aware of our intent
to develop the property.
A number of ideas were tossed around regarding fund raising opportunities: 1)
Get a table at the different train shows 2) Elton Rouse stated that he is
writing a book about the railroad and interested in donating a percentage of the
profits to the CHS 3) Writing various grants 4) Casting an original switch plate
or spike from the CMRR line and sell it as a fundraiser 5) Develop a CHS Depot
float 6) Create a specialty Cairo Herald full of Railroad articles from the
past.
John K. advised that the next meeting of the Cairo RR Depot Committee will be
March 12th at 7:00pm at the Cairo Library – all interested parties
are invited to attend.
b)Sylvia asked the members present at the meeting whether the CHS should
take a proactive approach to acquiring the Forge Yearbooks. We spend a
considerable amount of time tracking down old yearbooks. She is suggesting that
we purchase the yearbooks every year as they become available. Robert U.
motioned that we purchase a yearbook every year as they become available. Gail
seconded the motion. All in favor.
c)There will be three positions open for election at the April Yearly
Meeting: the secretary position, Sylvia Hasenkopf current incumbent and two
trustee positions, Robert Hempstead and Linda Larsen current incumbents.
d)Sylvia read an email from Valerie Meddaugh and a small note from The
Kissanes that were complimentary to the work the CHS is doing:
From Valerie Meddaugh, commenting on the news the CHS had purchased the Depot
property: “Fabulous news! Great work on your part. The CHS seems to be a real
driver in re-shaping Cairo. January 23, 2014”
From the Kissanes: “Dear Supervisor Banta: I am writing to tell you we were very
impressed by your respect your town displays on you lamp posts. We think it is a
wonderful thing the town is doing by displaying the pictures of your heroes.
Thank you for a beautiful drive thru your town. Sept 2013”
Sylvia Hasenkopf moved to close
the business meeting at 8:25 and Elton Rouse seconded the motion.
Share Session:
1)Sylvia presented a binder on the Cairo Episcopal Church. Pictures of the
church’s exterior and interior were included. The Episcopal Church is noted for
its beautiful stained glass windows. A listing of church baptisms, marriages and
burials was added to the file. Robert U. provided a brief history of the church,
which was founded in 1832. He also brought in a number of publications regarding
the church: 1) 150th Anniversary booklet, 2) The Centennial Booklet
3) Annual Chicken Dinner 1948 booklet. Copies were made for the binder. It was
noted that the original bell for the church was purchased in September 1840 from
Mr. Hanks’ Factory in Troy, NY, weighing 530 lbs. The purchase price was $153.
That bell was replaced in 1903.
2)Ray Houghtaling donated a copy of the founding of the Cairo Fire Company
as was found in the Greene County Advertiser, Vol.1 No.1 April 8, 1886.
Cairo Historical Society Minutes March 20, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Gail Kargoe, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Ron Hasenkopf, Ray Houghtaling, Robert Uzzilia,
Elton Rouse, Linda Larsen, Robert Uzzilia, Ann Clapper
President, John Kargoe called the
meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The February 20, 2014
meeting minutes were reviewed and approved. Ann Clapper made a motion to
accept the minutes as written and Elton Rouse seconded the motion.
There
is no Treasurer’s Report. Sylvia provided the account balances from the
February bank statements, however she believes there is a deposit that is
still outstanding. General Fund: $4,937.47; Building Fund $18,201.51; Events
Fund $2,844.79.
Membership update: We have 81 members, up 8
members from the February report. We have three new members and four renewal
members. Our renewal rate stands at 71.57%.
We currently have 642 Facebook members, an
increase of 63 members since February. Discussions this month have centered
on many school pictures that resulted in huge numbers of comments – Ed
Hatton, the bus drivers, John DuRoss Drivers Ed classes. Also discussed
Van’s, the Cock & Bottle shop (a snowmobile club), the Candy Cane and
pictures of the Lampman siblings over the years. Obituaries were posted for
Granger William Dittmar, Frieda Swanson and Helen Wyszynski.
Collections: Sylvia has
completed the cataloguing of the George and Leta Arnold WW2 letters. In
addition she began a binder of business cards for businesses from the Town
of Cairo, past and present. There are already over 100 business cards in the
directory. Due to the generosity of members Ann Clapper, Phyllis
Silva-Keith, Cindy Coffel, Jimmy Amodeo and Russ Ekstrom, the Cairo
Historical Society was able to acquire the Fred J. Meyer Military Order of Santiago medal/badge.
Many thanks go out to these members for their generosity.
Item Sales: The University
of Virginia has ordered one copy of the Eseck G. Wilber book.
Old Business:
a)Sylvia advised that great progress has been made on the logo – a design
image has been identified and Rita Carver is working on the fine tuning of the
design. This image will be useful for our correspondence. We would need a line
drawing of the image for other mediums. Michael Lamanec says he has a line
drawing of the Shinglekill Falls that we could look at.
b)No change with the NYS Tax Exemption request.
c)John K. advises that he had to cancel the meeting of the RR Depot
Committee, due to bad weather. The next meeting is scheduled for April 22, 2014
at 7pm in the Community Room of the Cairo Public Library. All are welcome. John
also advised that he has had a conversation with Mike West regarding the Cairo
RR. Turntable. He appears to be quite willing to discuss options with us.
d)Sylvia advised that she has not had time to pursue wider distribution of
the Eseck G. Wilber book.
e)Sylvia provided an update on the progress of the CHS Headquarters.
Kaaterskill Associates presented our plans to the Planning Board a second time
during the public comment phase. There were no questions. The Planning Board has
provided conditional approval to our plans, pending variance approvals.
f)The Cairo Historical Society has been offered 6 brand new Cairo HS
Yearbooks from 2008-2013 for $100. All agreed we should acquire them. New
yearbooks are $45 per year and it was also agreed to order a new one each year
for the CHS collections. Sylvia will proceed.
g)John K. advised that we have an election at the Annual meeting of the CHS
in April. Two trustee positions are up for election, the positions of Linda
Larsen and Robert Hempstead. In addition, the Secretary/VP position, currently
held by Sylvia Hasenkopf is also up for reappointment by the Board of Trustees.
Current incumbents have all expressed an interest in continuing in their
positions. The review of the By-Laws and Constitution of the Cairo Historical
Society is not yet complete; therefore there is a need to establish the
elections process before the Annual Meeting. This will be done at the next Board
of Trustees meeting which will be held before the Annual Meeting. It was agreed
the Board of Trustees Meeting will be held at Sylvia’s house on April 10, 2014
at 7pm.
h)The Constitution and By-Laws Committee is Linda Larsen, Gail Kargoe,
Sylvia Hasenkopf and John Kargoe is the Chair.
Projects Update:
a)The CHS has received 18 Hometown Heroes Banners applications to date.
There are six WW1 and WW2 soldiers who were killed in action and for whom we are
seeking sponsors.
Sgt. Robert J. Rothenhausler, WW2
Pfc. Joseph D. Kollar, US Army Medic, WW2
Pvt. Floyd A. Hauver, WW1
Pvt. Frank W. Hitchcock, Cook, WW1
1st Lt. Harold C. Meyer, WW2
Pvt. Virnel Butler, WW1
Dan Joyce has indicated that he is interested in sponsoring Virnel
Butler’s
Banner. The CHS is actively looking for sponsors for the other
banners. The
CHS is also actively looking for sponsors for a number of
Revolutionary
War vets:
Amos Finch
Eliab Alden
John Balis
Jeremiah Mandigo
Peter Simpson
Jonathan Nickerson
North
River Research has agreed to sponsor Jeremiah Mandigo’s banner.
Sylvia
asked the members present whether the CHS membership would like
to sponsor any banners. It was agreed by all present
that the following
Hometown Heroes Banners will be sponsored by the
membership:
Capt.
James M. Pierson, Civil War
Eseck G. Wilber, Civil War
George
Arnold Jr.
Ray Houghtaling asked for help in getting the banners
hung as we will have a large number to place on poles. John Kargoe, Ed
Englehardt and Michael Lamanec indicated an interest in helping.
New Business:
a)Elizabeth Brinkerhoff has asked the Cairo Historical Society whether they
would be interested in having a table at the 2nd Annual Town of Cairo
Picnic, taking place Saturday, May 3 from 11:30am to 3:00pm. Rain date, Sunday
May 4. John and Gail Kargoe have indicated that they would man the table.
Ann Clapper moved to close the
Business Meeting 8:30pm, seconded by Ed Englehardt.
Share Session:
a)Sylvia presented the George and Leta Arnold letters Collection. She also
has a picture of Main St. Cairo, showing the location of the Arnold’s Store.
b)Sylvia presented the Business Card Directory.
c)Sylvia shared advertising inserts from the Brooklyn Eagle, 1930, 1931 and
1933 that shows the resorts in the Cairo area
d)Sylvia presented three pictures of the Lampman siblings: Erwin, William,
Charles, Winnie, Elsie, Patricia, Pete, Betty, Walter and Ervine.
e)Robert Uzzilia brought in a Bicentennial Scrapbook, with pictures of Fred
J. Meyer, our Spanish-America War Hometown Hero. Copies will be made for his
file.
Cairo Historical Society Minutes April 17, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Gail Kargoe, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Ron Hasenkopf, Ray Houghtaling, Elton Rouse, Ann
Clapper, Mike Lamanec, John Gallagher, Gary Hickey, Hetty Hickey
President, John Kargoe called the
meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
John Kargoe expressed the
gratitude of the Cairo Historical Society for the complimentary coffee, tea,
cakes and cookies that Rooster Doodles Café and Bakery provided for the Annual
Meeting of the Cairo Historical Society this evening.
Ann Clapper made a motion to
adjourn the business meeting and Elton Rouse seconded the motion. The business
meeting was closed at 7:45pm.
The Annual Meeting of the Cairo
Historical Society commenced immediately. Sylvia Hasenkopf provided a Powerpoint
presentation outlining the year end financial status and detailing the successes
of the Cairo Historical Society in 2013. The printed presentation is available
in the archives of the Cairo Historical Society.
Following the presentation the
annual elections were undertaken. Sylvia Hasenkopf was reelected for her second
term as the VP/Secretary of the Cairo Historical Society. Robert Hempstead and
Linda Larsen were reelected to their second term as Trustees. Gary Hickey,
Michael Lamanec and Elton Rouse were elected to their first term as Trustees.
Congratulations to everyone.
Cairo Historical Society Minutes May 15, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Ann Clapper, Ron Hasenkopf, Ray Houghtaling, Elton Rouse, Mike
Lamanec, Gary Hickey, Ed Englehardt, John Rieker
President John Kargoe called the
meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
John Kargoe formally congratulated everyone who was
successful in the Cairo Historical Society April elections: Sylvia Hasenkopf who
was reelected as Secretary/VP, Robert Hempstead and Linda Larsen who were
reelected as Trustees and Michael Lamanec, Gary Hickey and Elton Rouse who were
elected as first time Trustees.
Old Business:
The
March 20 and April 17 meeting minutes were reviewed and approved. Ed
Englehardt made a motion to accept the minutes as written and Ann Clapper
seconded the motion. All agreed.
There
is no Treasurer’s Report.
Membership update: We have 96 members, up 15
members from the March report. Year to date we have 19 new members and 77
renewal members. Our renewal rate is 75.49%. We are 14 members shy of our
2014 goal of 110 members.
We currently have 760 Facebook members, an
increase of 118 members since March. The significant increase in Facebook
membership was driven by the discussions about Hometown Heroes and the
competition to identify the 2014 Hometown Hero who will appear on the Trail
Guide for the banners. There were eight Hometown Heroes on the short list:
Bill Staker (Navy/WW1), Frank Dorpfeld (Marine/Korea), Tom Rogers
(Navy/WW2), Robert Esslie (Army/WW2), Dusty Byrne (Marine/Vietnam), Heather
Ray (Army/Afghanistan), Wallace Chadderdon (Navy/WW2) and Dorrie Savage (Air
Force/Korea). Tom Rogers was the winner of the voting process.
This month we discussed the many photos posted by Michael Lamanec from his
family collection. Michael’s grandfather, Jules Lamanec, was in business
with Otto Sternagel under the business name Julot. The photo studio was
primarily located at the O’Connell Farm in the 1920’s and onwards. Prior to
that time the Julot studio was on Main St. in Cairo for a short time. Julot
studio primarily took photos of guests at the various boarding houses of the
area.
Collections: There were no new additions to the collections.
Sylvia presented the proposed logo (see attached proposal) and asked for
feedback from the group. Some members felt that the image, showing the
Shinglekill Falls and mill is too busy; there is too much foliage. Michael
Lamanec indicated he has the same view of the falls and mill, but with less
foliage. The image is on a postcard. He had the image on his cell phone and
showed a number of the members. There was some significant interest in using
this as the prime image of the logo. A discussion ensued about having an
image of the Catskill mountain range or Round Top overlaid on the
Shinglekill image. Although not necessarily a true image of the falls, as
there are no mountains in the background, many members noted that artistic
license such as this was not unusual.
Michael Lamanec indicated that he would be willing to liaise with some high
school students who may have the computer skills to combine the images.
Sylvia will be in touch with him next week.
The Cairo Historical Society wanted to thank Rita Carver for her work on
getting the logo to this point. A little more fine tuning is needed, but the
oval layout is ideal for what we would like to do.
Sylvia advised that Chuck
Holtz, a local surveyor, has agreed to survey the Cairo Depot property at no
cost to the Cairo Historical Society. The CHS is very thankful for his
willingness to do this.
John advised that he has spoken with B&B Forest Products and they have
agreed to supply the wood for the ties to the railroad tracks we are going
to lay. It was agreed that we should use locust trees for the ties as they
do not rot. It is hoped that Billy Metzler will be willing to cut the trees
into the ties.
Ron asked whether the creosote ties stored at the back of the CHS HQ’s are
now surplus to our needs and asked if he could remove them, if so. He will
be beginning the cleanup of the materials in the back yard. John indicated
that the CHS no longer needs the creosote ties.
Elton Rouse spoke with Lance Wheeler about our Cairo Depot project. Lance
was very interested and was willing to perhaps do a television spot on the
laying of the tracks. He’s asked for a three paragraph overview of the track
laying project. Elton will prepare.
The next meeting of the Cairo Depot Committee is scheduled for May 20th
at 7pm at
the Cairo Library.
Sylvia provided an overview
of the CHS Headquarters project. We are currently in front of the Appeals
Board as some of our building is within the 10 foot variance as established
in our local laws. John K. attended the Appeals Board meeting and advised
that the Board has asked the CHS to approach all our neighbors to ask them
if they have any concerns regarding the building being within the variance.
Sylvia will write those letters.
Sylvia advised that she has
not had an opportunity to explore wider distribution of the Eseck G. Wilber
book.
John advised that the Town
Picnic went very well. A number of people stopped by the booth to discuss
local history and some purchased items as well.
Ray H. advised that he and
Ed Englehardt, John Kargoe and Gary Hickey have been organizing the banners
and have raised about 55 already. The push is on to have all 210 up by
Memorial Day.
Sylvia advised that the writing for the Hometown Heroes Book is underway.
Nine biographies are complete; two are almost complete, leaving 199 to do.
Sylvia also advised that she is working on a poster of the men and women who
appear on the banner. Stay tuned.
Ann C. advised that the
Coxsackie-Athens Band will be playing folk music from around the world at
the concert on May 18th. The concert will be at Gallagher’s
Banquet Hall at 2pm. Spread the word. The Band will have a free will
offering at the door.
Sylvia advised that the
William G. Pomeroy Foundation has approved the historical marker for Thurlow
Weed. We have already received the grant cheque and the order for the banner
is already placed.
Mike L. asked why we did not place the historical marker in front of Weed’s
boyhood home. Sylvia advised that there is no primary historical proof that
the house, purported to be Weed’s boyhood home, is in fact his boyhood home.
As we could not provide this proof, we could not place that info on the
marker. The William G. Pomeroy Foundation is a stickler for primary proof on
all its historical markers. That being the case, placing the marker in front
of the purported Weed homestead would make no sense as there would be no
reference to it on the marker. Instead, the Acra manor was gracious enough
to allow us to place it at the corner of Rtes 31 and 23B. It was felt that
this location would also get a great deal of drive by traffic and attention.
Sylvia indicated that she
has begun work on the application for the Prehistoric Forest for the
National Register of Historic Places.
Sylvia advised that Tobe
Carey is willing to have us do a showing of his new documentary, Trails to
the Catskills, on November 1st. After some discussion Ed E.
motioned that we have the film shown at 2pm on November 1st at
the Cairo Library. Ann C. seconded the motion. 5 members were in favor, 2
not in favor and 3 abstained from the vote. The motion was carried. Sylvia
will confirm that the Library room is available that day. Sylvia also asked
whether we should be charging admission to the event and it was finally
agreed that it will be a free-will donation.
New Business:
Sylvia advised the
membership that Joe Fabrizio has donated $5000 to the Cairo Historical
Society. Everyone present was extremely thankful for his generosity.
Sylvia presented the
donation form she designed with Joe’s help. A copy was distributed to all
members present for comment. No changes were suggested. It was agreed that
the form will be very helpful.
Sylvia advised that she had
received a query on Facebook about the Limelight in Gayhead. Which side of
the road was the building located? Did it have a post office at one time?
The collective memory of the members present was tapped. It appears the
Limelight was on the north side of the Schoharie Turnpike, hence located in
the Town of Greenville. It also appears that memories do recall a post
office in the building.
Sylvia presented a proposal
to increase our microfilm collection. We currently have 14 rolls of
microfilm – all of the Cairo Herald. She proposes that we start acquiring
additional newspaper microfilms that cover the Town of Cairo area. After
much discussion Ann C. motioned that $400 be set aside yearly for the
acquisition of microfilm. Mike L. seconded the motion and all agreed.
John proposed that the Cairo
Historical Society send a letter to the Cairo Public Library thanking them
for the use of the Community Room for our meetings and events. Sylvia will
write the letter.
Ann C. motioned to close the
business meeting at 8:51 and Ed E. seconded the motion. All agreed.
Share session:
Sylvia brought in two old maps
that were made in 1911 of Cairo’s Main St., showing the residences and
businesses on each side of the road. The maps were recently donated to the Cairo
Historical Society by Joyce-Karen Oswald.
Cairo Historical Society Minutes June 19, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Gail Kargoe, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Ray Houghtaling, Elton Rouse, Mike Lamanec, Gary
Hickey, Ed Englehardt, Robert E. Dodge, Robert Uzzilia, John Gallagher III
President John Kargoe called the
meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The May
19, 2014 meeting minutes were reviewed and approved. Elton Rouse made a
motion to accept the minutes as written and Ed Englehardt seconded the
motion. All agreed.
John
presented the Treasurer’s Report. There is no change in the special events
account – it remains at $2844.79. The General Fund is currently $5922.75 and
the Building Fund is at $20879.49.
John questioned a bill received from the Town’s water department. We are
being charged $50 each quarter for water for vacant land. John K. has agreed
to explore these charges with the Water Department.
Membership update: Our membership remains at
96 members, no change from the May report.
We currently have 807 Facebook members, an
increase of 47 members since May. This month we discussed a number of True
family photos, Renne Falls, the Wolter’s Valley View, the Angeline Canniff
Family Album, the Ozone Jolly House fire, the Rails to the Catskills DVD,
Georg Graf Cairo Photographer, Oscar Shillings List of Local Businesses and
the 1953 Memorial Day Parade stills and many other topics.
Collections: We received a number of items to add to our collections this
month. Suzanne Bauer Oldakowski donated a number of pictures of Wolter’s
Valley View, Chris Bauer donated Albin Tomkiewicz’s WW2 photo albums and a
number of other Tomkiewicz family items, Denise Daly and Donna Reilly
donated a Barton Bell, Rooster Doodles donated a menu from the restaurant,
Sylvia Hasenkopf donated Field Horne’s Greene County Catskills book, Tobe
Carey donated his Rails to the Catskills DVD, Jean Snyder donated a photo of
Leta Arnold in uniform and James Amodeo donated a Sacred Heart Church
postcard.
Item
Sales: We sold 10 Cairo hats, 3 Portraits of the Past, 1 Eseck G. Wilbur
book, 3 Rails to the Catskills DVDs.
Old Business
1.Sylvia is happy to report that the NYS Tax Exemption certificate has
arrived. The only item left is our tax collection certificate, which has been
submitted.
2.Mike L. advised that work on the new logo is progressing very well. His
computer crashed, although he believes his work is undamaged. He has combined a
number of images together as we discussed in the last meeting.
3.John K. provided an overview of the progress at the Cairo Depot site. B&B
lumber have agreed to donate 20 locust logs and Bill Metzler has agreed to mill
them into railroad ties. A work crew will assemble on June 25th to
work on the site. A ribbon cutting ceremony of the completed project is
projected for September 26th, possibly in the early evening. John has
spoken with the Grupe brothers of Gemini Construction, who have agreed to donate
time and equipment to the project. Mike L. is repainting the historical marker
for the CMRR – Cairo Line. A need to locate approximately 70 spikes for the
project was discussed. Robert U. will reach out to Dale Flansburg to see whether
he has any ideas. Ed E., John K. and Elton R. will meet to hunt some old spikes
down. Lance Wheeler has expressed an interest in the project and has requested a
brief summary of what we are doing. He may decide to do a video for his weekly
show. Rooster Doodle will donate a cake with a picture of the railroad station
on it to the ribbon cutting ceremony. Roger Liller has agreed to develop a
presentation on the CMRR for after the ribbon cutting ceremony. Sylvia will
contact Chuck Holtz who is doing the site survey to establish where we are in
the process.
4.Mary Jo Cords donated all her office furniture to the Cairo Historical
Society. Many thanks Mary Jo! We are storing the furniture at the St. Edmund’s
Chapel in Acra. Sylvia advised that Kaaterskill Associates has identified a
governmental program that may provide a grant to assist us with electricity
efficiency. The program is called NYSERDA and funding is available to assist in
the costs related to electrical efficiency – the HVAC system and lighting.
Sylvia is preparing the application for the program. Work is underway to resolve
the property boundary lines between the CHS property and the Jeune/Parker
property and the Town property. Sylvia will be attending the upcoming Variance
Board meeting, the Planning Board meeting and the Town Board meeting, as we
resolve these issues. Sylvia proposes that we erect a sign in front of the
building identifying project partners. There was a general agreement to this
proposal.
5.Sylvia advises she has had no opportunity to explore wider distributions
channels for the Eseck G. Wilber book.
6.As mentioned previously, the paperwork has been submitted to New York
State for the purposes of collecting New York Sales Tax.
7.Sylvia and Ray extend their thanks to everyone who helped placing the
Hometown Heroes banners – Gary Hickey, John Kargoe, Robert Uzzilia, Michael
Lamanec, Michael Adrian, Bill Alfeld, Mike Houghtaling and Joe Turner. We have
212 banners this year.
8.John K. advises that he spoke with Robert Titus who expressed an interest
in giving a presentation about Cairo’s Prehistoric Forest next year. He would
like to visit the site. John K. will arrange.
9.Sylvia advised she has the packet ready to be sent to SHPO (State
Historic Preservation Office) for the Prehistoric Forest to be considered for
the National Register of Historic Places and is awaiting the next Town Board
meeting (July 14, 2014) for approval by the Town for the nomination process.
10.Sylvia advises that Cairo Archival Day is scheduled for July 12, 2014 at
10am to 2pm at the Cairo Public Library.
11.Sylvia advises that the Cairo Historical Society has received the DVD
Rails to the Catskills, Tobe Carey’s new DVD. The DVD is $20.
New Business
There is no new business.
Ed Englehardt motioned to
close the business meeting at 8:32 and Robert U. seconded the motion. All
agreed.
Share session:
1)Ed Englehardt brought in a beautiful lithograph of the Catskill Mtns.
from Van Loan’s 1882 Travel Guide.
2)Robert Uzzilia brought in one of the stars from the Love Star Theater,
owned by Jane Van Buren.
3)Sylvia presented a binder on Church of the Sacred Heart in Cairo. A
history of the church was provided and numerous postcards and pictures, the
oldest of which dates to the first years of the church.
4)Sylvia presented the two Albin Tomkiewicz photo albums from his time in
the service in WW2. He was stationed at Hawaii.
Cairo Historical Society Minutes July 17, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Gail Kargoe, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Elton Rouse, Mike Lamanec, Robert Uzzilia, John
Gallagher III, Linda C. Larsen, Ray Houghtaling, Mark Grupe, Richard Grupe
President John Kargoe called the
meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The
June 19, 2014 meeting minutes were reviewed and approved. Elton Rouse made
a motion to accept the minutes as written and Mark Grupe seconded the
motion. All agreed.
John
presented the Treasurer’s Report. There is no change in the special events
account – it remains at $2844.79. The General Fund is currently $6,585.97
and the Building Fund is at $22,189.49.
John K. advised that he discussed the water bill for the Depot property with
the Town’s Water Department. All vacant land in the village is charged a
minimum of $50, half the rate, per quarter.
Membership update: Our membership remains at
96 members, no change from the June report. Mike Lamanec has agreed to chair
the Membership Committee and will begin his responsibilities with the 2015
membership campaign.
We currently have 833 Facebook members, an
increase of 26 members since June. This month we launched voting for the
2015 Historical Marker initiative. Three potential markers were presented:
1) Cairo Poorhouse, 2) The Forge and 3) James Barker. At present the
Poorhouse has 76 votes, The Forger has 27 and James Barker has 12. A request
for business cards for Cairo businesses was also posted. We discussed the
Cairo Seminary from 1827 and an old ad from 1827 regarding the varieties of
apples being sold in Cairo. We also discussed a pic of the early home of the
Fabrizio family when they arrived in Cairo in the 1920’s, Hearts Content Rd,
Cairo Depot pics, and camping along the Catskill Creek in South Cairo. We
also posted pics of the tree removal by McAlister’s Tree Removal Service at
the CHS Headquarters’ site. We posted one obituary for June – Cody Veverka.
Collections: Roberta Waldron Ryan donated a number of issues of the Cairo
Herald from the 1930’s. Chris Bauer provided scans of early photos of his
grandfather welcoming Elsie the Cow to Greene County. These photos were
publicity stills photographed by Earl Cooper likely in the 1950’s. We also
received a copy of a pic of the Fabrizio home when they arrived in Cairo.
Item
Sales: We sold 1 cap, 1 Sweet Violets DVD and 7 Rails to the Catskills DVDs.
Old
Business
Michael
L. advises he has no update on the CHS Logo.
John K.
advises that work on the Cairo Depot site is progressing. There is a need to
convene a few work parties together in order to clean the stone embankment
and prep the area for the placement of the ties and rails before the reveal
date in September. He also advises that Robert Hempstead indicated that the
railroad bed needs to be raised so that it is higher than the road. Robert
U. advise4s that the locust logs have arrived at Bill Metzler’s for sawing.
There was also some discussion regarding the two telephone poles at the
Depot site. One appears to be a “dead” pole. Ray H. advised he would look at
it. The next meeting of the Railroad Committee is slated for August 22 at
7:00 pm at the Cairo Library. A work party is scheduled for August 23 at
6:30pm at the Depot site.
Sylvia
provided an update of progress at the CHS Headquarters’ site. McAlister’s
Tree Removal Service has removed three trees at the Headquarters’ site and
trimmed branches back on a number of others. The CHS extends it’s thanks to
the company for the favorable pricing for the endeavor. Sylvia indicated
that she attended the Variance Board meeting in June and the Board approved
our variance for the CHS Headquarters’ Building. They also provided
provisional approval to the subdivision of the land between the Jeunes and
the CHS Headquarters’ property. Sylvia also attended the planning board
meeting in June subsequent to the Variance Board Meeting. After much
discussion, the Planning Board voted to approve the site plan for the CHS
Headquarters. We can now move forward with the building permit. The issue of
the “gore” between the CHS and the Jeunes and the CHS and the Town is still
outstanding.
Sylvia
advises that there is no update on wider distribution of the Eseck G. Wilber
book. She expects to look at this in the fall.
Sylvia
advises that we have not yet received the NYS Tax Collection certificate.
Projects:
Sylvia
advises that we paid $1143.02 for the 2500 Hometown Heroes brochures. Work
on the book is moving slowly and the launch date has been moved forward to
coincide with a launch date in May 2015.
Sylvia
advises that she has submitted the application to the National Register of
Historic Places for the Cairo Petrified Forest. The process can take a year.
Sylvia
advises that she and Linda Larsen held the yearly archival day on July 12,
2014 at the Cairo Library. Carol Spohler, Robert Uzzilia, Linda Larsen and
Friends of the Cairo Library all donated items to the CHS. Cataloguing is
underway.
Sylvia
advises that the Thurlow Weed marker is expected by early August. She also
wondered whether the CHS should create a commemorative postal cover to
commemorate the placement of the marker. John K. and Robert U. will work on
the project.
Sylvia
advises that the deadline for the 2015 historical marker is October 1, 2014.
An email listing primary source documentation is due, however on September
12. It looks like the Cairo Almshouse will be the next historical marker.
Sylvia will work on this project.
New
Business
Gail K.
indicated that she is the Parade Committee Chair. M.a. Tarpinian, John K.
and Robert U. have expressed interest in participating in the committee. At
present there are three parades that the CHS will prepare a float – Memorial
Day, July 4th and Christmas parades. If anyone is interested in
participating in the committee, please contact Gail at [email protected].
Elton Rouse motioned to close the
business meeting at 8:40 and Mark Grupe seconded the motion. All agreed.
Share
session:
1) A discussion ensued regarding Heart’s Content Rd. Sylvia brought in a copy of
a postcard of the Hearts Content Camp. Members at the meeting recall that the
camp was a small boarding house and was known for hunting and fishing. A Col.
Keith Hubbard was the owner of the camp.
Cairo Historical Society Minutes August 21, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Gail Kargoe, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Ron Hasenkopf, Elton Rouse, Mike Lamanec, Robert
Uzzilia, Mark Grupe, Robert E. Dodge, M.A. Tarpinian, Carol Spohler
Guests: Neil Schoenfeld, Sharon
Schoenfeld
President John Kargoe called the
meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The July 17, 2014 meeting
minutes were reviewed and approved. Carol Spohler made a motion to accept
the minutes as written and Elton Rouse seconded the motion. All agreed.
John Gallagher, the
Treasurer, was not present, however the Treasurer’s report was sent to
Sylvia and she presented it. There is no change in the special events
account – it remains at $2844.79. The General Fund is currently $6,084.77
and the Building Fund is at $18,229.82. Mark Grupe moved to accept the
Treasurer’s report and M.A. Tarpinian seconded the motion.
Membership update: Our membership is now 98
members, in increase of 2 members from the July report. The Cairo Historical
Society welcomes Nancy Prosser-Marshall and Gemini Construction. We are 12
memberships short of our 2014 goal.
We currently have 842 Facebook members, an
increase of 9 members since July. This month we discussed Siam, the escaped
elephant from the Vidbell circus in 1957, which was found in the stone
quarry at the Cairo Highway Department site, the Windmere House, Janet
Brainard Noonan and her twin Laura Lindsay Noonan pics, along with pics from
the Cairo Cemetery in 1925. We posted three obituaries: Donald Stein, Ralph
Pahl and Mary Bryant Chadderdon.
Collections: No items were received
Item Sales: We sold one
baseball cap and one DVD Rails to the Catskills.
Sylvia advised that she
assisted one visitor to Cairo seeking the location of the graves of Elisha
Powell and his wife Rachel. She sent Kathy Prause from Michigan digital
pics.
Old Business
Michael L. advises he has no
update on the CHS Logo.
Sylvia advises that there is
no update on wider distribution of the Eseck G. Wilber book. She expects to
look at this in the fall.
Sylvia advises that we have
received the NYS Tax Collection certificate which has been forwarded to the
Treasurer.
Projects:
John K. briefed everyone on
the progress at the Cairo Depot site. Thirty-one feet of rail is ready to be
laid. Mark Grupe of Gemini Construction cleared a space along the road in
readiness to lay the plastic. Gravel was then placed on the plastic. Next
step will be the ties and the rail placement. Seven ties are already cut.
The locust wood is so dense that it is affecting the saw at Bill Metzler’s.
White oak is being substituted for the remaining rails. The wood is being
provided by B&B Forest Products. Next work crew meeting is scheduled for
Monday August 25th at 9:30am to start laying the ties.
John and Sylvia met with a concerned neighbor to the Depot site. Also at the
meeting was Chuck Holtz, who surveyed the property for the CHS. The
homeowner was satisfied with the discussion and has been briefed with the
plans for the Depot site.
Mark Grupe indicated that he would ask the Firehouse if the CHS can plug
into their electrical outlet for the speaker system for the big reveal on
September 26th.
Neil Schoenfeld suggested that a railroad layout would be a nice addition to
the presentation following the reveal on the 26th. He indicated
that he would be willing to reach out to Johnathan Munster, a local railroad
enthusiast and modeler, to see if he would be interested in doing the
layout.
John indicated that the Depot Committee has developed the idea of having a
Cairo Depot T-shirt or Polo shirt for sale at the event. M.A. indicated she
met with Manny at Round Top Knit and Screening for some price quotes. For a
quantity of 12-23 shirts the price for small to x-large is $9.25. 2x to 3x
is $11.35 for a t-shirt and for polo shirts, small to x-large $14.50 and 2x
to 3x $16.50. A discussion ensued regarding the purchase of the t-shirts. It
was agreed that white print/image on a black t-shirt was desirable and that
a combination of t-shirts and polo shirts be purchased. Sylvia raised a
motion to authorize an expenditure of $500 for t-shirts/polo shirts. Rooster
seconded the motion and the motion passed.
Elton Rouse indicated he was watching a show on the RFD channel. It was
showcasing the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge railroad in Colorado.
Elton called them to see whether they have any surplus narrow gauge cars and
he was referred to another organization. Sylvia reiterated that the CHS is
in no position to acquire a car for the track in the foreseeable future. All
major fundraising by the CHS is geared towards erecting our headquarters.
Should a car be donated to the CHS, which would be wonderful, the CHS would
gladly accept it.
Sylvia advised there is no
real update on the CHS Headquarters project. We are awaiting the signature
of the site plans by the Planning Board and the completion of the
construction plans.
Sylvia advised that the
launch of the Hometown Heroes book must be moved to May 2015. Logistically,
there isn’t enough time to complete the project by Christmas.
We have received three applications for the 2015 Hometown Heroes: John L.
Simons, Donald O. Huntley, John L. Telga.
The Thurlow Weed historical
marker is now slated to arrive in early September. John K. and Robert U. are
still investigating a postal commemorative stamp commemorating the
installation of the marker.
Sylvia advises that it
appears very likely that the 2015 historical marker will be the Cairo
Poorhouse. Preliminary proofs must be sent to the William G. Pomeroy
Foundation by September 14, 2014 and the full grant packet by October 1,
2014. Sylvia will action.
Sylvia advised that she will
be starting the next phase of the Cairo Cemetery digitization project in the
next month.
Robert U. advises that he
has no update on the Solomon/Earle cemetery remediation project.
Gail advises that the Parade
Committee comprises the following volunteers: Gail Kargoe, John Kargoe,
Robert Uzzilia, M.A. Tarpinian. Anyone interested in assisting is welcome to
join the team. The first meeting of the Parade Committee is September 8th
at 1:00pm at Gail’s house. Work is commencing on the Christmas Float.
New Business
Neil Schoenfeld proposed
that the Cairo Historical Society consider St. Edmund’s Chapel in Acra when
looking for another project. Sylvia mentioned that the Town of Cairo
currently owns the chapel and uses it as a warehouse of goods and furniture
at the present time. It also seems unlikely that the CHS could adopt another
capital project any time soon. However, the chapel is certainly a historical
site that would be of interest to the CHS in the future.
John K. advised that he
accompanied Robert Titus to the quarry site of the prehistoric forest. Dr.
Titus has expressed an interest in doing a presentation for the CHS next
year on the site. Date to be determined.
Neil Schoenfeld also
suggested that the CHS develop a map/guide of historic sites in Cairo.
Carol Spohler motioned to close the business meeting at
8:24 and Gail Kargoe seconded the motion. All agreed.
Share session:
1) Robert Uzzilia brought in a gift from Alice Foster. It is the Certificate of
New York for Frank D. Cole issued by the Department of the Secretary of State.
Frank was the Secretary of the Greene County Agricultural Society. The
certificate was issued in 1905.
2) Sylvia brought in a United
Press photo of Siam, the escaped elephant from her personal collection.
3) Sylvia brought in a brochure
from the Glens Falls House. The date is was published is uncertain but likely in
the early 20th century.
Cairo Historical Society Minutes September 18, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Gail Kargoe, Sylvia Hasenkopf, Ron Hasenkopf, Elton Rouse, Mike Lamanec, Robert
Uzzilia, Mark Grupe, M.A. Tarpinian, Linda C. Larsen.
Guests: Neil Schoenfeld, Sharon
Schoenfeld, John M. Rieker
President John Kargoe called the
meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The August 21, 2014 meeting
minutes were reviewed and approved. Elton Rouse made a motion to accept the
minutes as written and Ron Hasenkopf seconded the motion. All agreed.
No Treasurer’s Report was
presented.
Membership update: Our membership remained at
98 members. We are 4 memberships shy of our 2013 membership level and 12 shy
of our 2014 goal.
We currently have 854 Facebook members, an
increase of 12 members since August. This month we discussed the Blackhead
Mountain Ski Club, Stanley Schepp (he was the clown at the Remuda Ranch in
the 1970’s), the Cairo Poorhouse (Almshouse, County Home), the Ribbon
Cutting at the Cairo R.R., the Cairo Diner, Mose Deyo and his wife Virgie,
Coleman Duncan’s POW papers and various pieces of ephemera from Richard
Sulger’s collection. We mentioned three obituaries during the month: Linda
Joyce (Simpkins) Resnyak, Allen Garcia, Karl Hoffmeister.
Collections: Carol Spohler
donated a number of items of ephemera, Richard Sulger allowed us to scan a
number of pictures and ephemera, Patty Sutter donated railroad items (2
spikes, blank RR certificate) and a book of the old service stations in the
Hudson Valley and a few other items of ephemera.
Item Sales: 1 throw, 3 hats
and 1 DVD (Rails to the Catskills).
Old Business
Michael L. advises he has no
update on the CHS Logo.
Projects:
John Kargoe advised that the
Cairo Depot R.R. Ribbon Cutting is ready to go. Robert Hempstead and his
crew laid stone and helped lay the rails. Elton Rouse has painted two rails
a gold color and they will be ceremoniously driven into the rails.
Neil Schoenfeld suggested we connect with the Ulster/Delaware RR in order to
gain an insight on how to promote the Depot site. After some discussion it
was decided that we would wait until the Depot is further along in
construction.
John advised that Richard Viglio donated an additional $150 to the Railroad
Depot fund. These funds will help cover the costs of the polo shirts that
have been purchased for the event.
Neil Schoenfeld and John Kargoe have agreed to draft a letter of support to
the Ulster/Delaware Railroad.
Mike Lamanec indicated that the he will ensure that the Cairo Depot sign
will be painted and rehung by the Ribbon Cutting Day.
Sylvia provided an update on
the Cairo Historical Society HQ’s. The site plan has now been approved and
signed by the Planning Board. The construction drawings have also been
completed. We are awaiting the sewer plans. It appears that the building
permit will cost about $1034.
The Thurlow Weed historical
sign has still not arrived. Catskill Castings advises it should arrive
shortly. John K. and Robert U. advised there is not enough time to prepare a
postal commemorative stamp before the installation of the Thurlow Weed
historical marker.
Sylvia advised that she is
finalizing the grant for the Cairo Home. The suggested wording is:
County Home
Provided shelter for Greene
County sick and destitute.
Architect – John B. Halcott
Contractors – Mull & Fromer
Erected 1883, closed 1962.
The
wording was approved by the members present.
Sylvia advised that she will
be starting the next phase of the Cairo Cemetery digitization project in the
next month.
Robert U. advises that he
has reviewed the Solomon/Earle Cemetery. The cemetery has been well
maintained by the Town Highway Department. Work is needed to re-right fallen
stones. Tree stumps also need to be removed. A review of what materials can
be used to clean the stones must be made. Sylvia volunteered to find out
more info on what products can be safely used to clean the stones. Bob will
set up a remediation date to work on the cemetery.
Sylvia advises that the
Hometown Heroes banners will be coming down after Columbus Day. Ray
Houghtaling will spearhead the taken-down crew, but he needs help. Robert
Uzzilia and John Kargoe have volunteered to assist. It will take 3 to 4 days
to take the banners down, clean them and store them.
We have received 4 new banner applications since August: William C. Birk,
Thomas Webber, Daniel Patrick Haran, Karl A. Eisenhardt Sr.
Gail advises that the Parade
Committee met and plans are underway for the Christmas Parade float. There
is a need for a flatbed for the display.
New Business
Neil Schoefeld has suggested
that Ralph DiCaprio, who is very knowledgeable about WW2, would be an
excellent speaker in 2015. Another friend, Teddy, has a large collection of
Indian artifacts and also would be a great lecturer.
M.a. advised that there is
an effort underway to document the historic places in Greene County. A
meeting will take place on October 22nd, co-jointly hosted by the Greene
County Land Trust and Cornell Cooperative.
Neil advises that Altamura,
who was going to close its doors, is reinventing itself as a Broadway
theater club. The first show is October 5, 2014.
Sylvia presented an email
from Janice Colvin who submitted her concern regarding the dilapidated
condition of the enclosure around the Susquehannah marker opposite the Pork
Store on old Rte 23. Mark Grupe and Robert Uzzilia will look at repairing or
replacing the enclosure.
The yearly postcard show is
arranged for the Mountaintop on Saturday from 10-3pm.
Sylvia motioned to close the business meeting at 8:43 and
Ron Hasenkopf seconded the motion. All agreed.
Share session:
1) Sylvia brought in pictures from the CHS collection:
- Stanley Schepp on his horse Hi-Fi
- Frank Maggio and Stanley Schepp (in his
clown’s outfit)
- Remuda Ranch Rodeo banner
- Round Top Rodeo poster
- Blackhead Mountain Ski Club brochure, ca
1942-1955
Cairo Historical Society Minutes October 16, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Ron Hasenkopf, Elton Rouse, Robert E. Dodge, John Meddaugh,
Valerie Meddaugh, Linda Larsen, Raymond Houghtaling, Ted Banta, Sherry B. True
Guests: John M. Rieker, Gene
Houghtaling
Vice-President Sylvia Hasenkopf
called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
President John Kargoe will be attending but will be a few minutes late.
The
September 18, 2014 meeting minutes were reviewed and approved. Robert E.
Dodge made a motion to accept the minutes as written and Valerie Meddaugh
seconded the motion. All agreed and the motion was passed.
No
Treasurer’s Report was presented. We have received the final bill from
Kaaterskill Associates for the CHS Headquarters design, which will be
processed before next month’s meeting. That is the last invoice we should be
receiving for Phase One of the project.
Membership update: Our membership increased
by two members to 100. We are 10 memberships shy of our 2014 goal. A
discussion ensued regarding initiatives that could be used to increase
membership, as membership revenue is the CHS’s primary funding source for
our projects and programs as well as our ongoing fixed costs, like
insurance, water bills for our properties, office supplies, etc. It was
agreed that we need to increase our membership base. Michael Lamanec has
agreed to take over the membership drive for 2015 and he could use some
help.
We currently have 868 Facebook members, an
increase of 14 members since September. This month we discussed the Apple
Harvest Festival, Carol Spohler’s Award for her long service to the Cairo
Market Days, Gemini Construction’s work at the CHS Headquarters’ site, Hans
and Gretl’s Boarding House, the Purling Palace, the Greene County Almshouse,
the Cairo in the Directory of the Mohican Trail, 1932, renovations at the
Sugarloaf Bakery (Great Beginnings Daycare), the Round Top Firehouse and
many other things. One item that was discussed was the time capsule that was
buried at the Cairo Fountain. No one is sure whether the time capsule was
ever opened.
Collections: Kate Hansen donated three Rockface Pencils and a folding ruler
with Angelo Canna’s name on it. Edna Rossi Kniffen donated a doily made by
Mary C. Smith of the Locust Shade Farm in the 1920’s to the Town Clerk’s
office, who in turn gave it to the Cairo Historical Society.
Item
Sales: We had brisk sales at the Apple Harvest Festival ($385) as well as
the Railroad Ribbon Cutting ($355). In addition we had regular sales of $230
during the month. Items sold: Portraits of the Past – 4, Cairo Heralds – 17,
Deep Water DVD – 1, Capitol Hill DVD – 1, Greene County USA DVD – 2, Cairo
Mountain House DVD – 2, Railroad Polo shirts – 10, Postal Commemorative
Postcards – 9, T&T Tshirt – 1, Cairo Bicentennial TShirt – 3, Legs Diamond
Book - 1.
A proposal to develop a patch that can be sewn on
items was discussed and it seems like an interesting idea, but needs more
development.
Old
Business
Michael
L. advises he has no update on the CHS Logo.
John K.
advises that the letter of support to the Catskill Mountain Railroad is not
yet done.
Sylvia
presented some instructions on cleaning tombstones from some tombstone
cleaning sites. The key is not to use anything acidic on the stones, nor
abrasive cleaning tools. An interesting product called Wet ‘n Wild appears
to clean stones gently but effectively. It is available at Youngs Hardware
in Catskill. It was decided by the membership present that a bottle of this
product should be bought and tested on some stones for its effectiveness.
Sylvia will pick it up.
No
report was presented on the Susquehannah Turnpike enclosure repairs.
Projects:
1.John K. advised that the Depot Ribbon Cutting
went extremely well. We had many dignitaries present and a sizable crowd
present. Roger Liller’s presentation lasted 2 hours and was excellent. Joe
Stanzione donated an original copy of Rip van Winkle Railroads. The project team
is still looking for a few more spikes and plates to secure the rails. The
Railroad Depot committee is suggesting we add a platform next year. Depot Polo
Shirts are now available for sale.
Sylvia indicated that she has spoken with the Grapeville Insurance. They are
indicating that insurers are expecting a fence be built along the top of the
stone abutment, for safety reasons. John will table this item with the Cairo
Depot Committee.
2.Sylvia provided an overview of the CHS
Headquarters status. The sewer plans are currently with the Town of Cairo Sewer
and Water Dept. The sewer section appears to be fine, however there is some
concern regarding the shared water supply. The sewer and water plans must be
approved by the Town Board. It is hoped that the approval will be forthcoming at
the December Board meeting.
A general discussion ensued regarding the cost of all fees associated with the
work at the Headquarters site. They could reach about $3500 to $4000. Ted Banta
suggested that the CHS petition the Town Board for a waiver of the fees. Sylvia
will write the letter.
Sylvia mentioned that a sidewalk along Railroad Ave between the Town parking Lot
and the Cairo Historical Headquarters would ensure the safety of pedestrians
visiting the Headquarters when it opens. Ted indicated that the Town of Cairo is
currently putting a plan together and seeking funds for the installation of a
sidewalk between the Elementary School and Hannafords. He recommended that
Sylvia shoot him a quick email and he will try to include that in the
submission.
Ted also wanted to mention that the Town has signed the paperwork to transfer
the Gore between the Town of Cairo and the Cairo Historical Society. Sylvia
expressed he thanks for the Town’s support.
3.Sylvia
mentioned that there is a great article submitted by Kaaterskill Associates to
Katskill Life about the design of the Cairo Historical Society Headquarters. We
have this edition of the magazine in our collection.
4.Sylvia advised that the Thurlow Weed Historical
Marker has come in. Ron indicated he will drop it off at the Town Highway
Department, along with the pole, so that Robert Hempstead’s crew can install the
pole at the site at the corner of Rtes. 31 and23B. Mention was made that many
notable entertainment acts played a show at the Acra Manor, including: the Ink
Spots, Jerry Vail, Buddy Hackett, Tiny Tim and Seeky Greene
5.Sylvia indicated that she has begun the
digitization of more sections of the Cairo Cemetery. She hopes to complete 7
more sections this year; 5 already completed this year.
6.There
is no report on the Solomon/Earle Cemetery Remediation project. A number of
people are interested in volunteering their time to this project.
7.Ray
Houghtaling advised that the Hometown Heroes banners have been taken down,
cleaned and stored in the boxes made for the project. There were many volunteers
that helped with this project: Mary Kames and Joe Pesez, John and Gail Kargoe,
M.a. Tarpinian, Denise and Gerry Daley, Bob Rose and members from the Cairo
Highway Department. Many thanks go out to all the volunteers, who made this job
go quickly and smoothly.
8.Sylvia
advised that there are no new Hometown Heroes Banners applications this month.
Seventeen biographies for the Hometown Heroes book have been completed.
9.Sylvia
advised that the Cairo Historical Society has received a $10,000 grant for the
printing of the Hometown Heroes book in color. She has written grant requests to
Berkshire Bank and the William Gundry Boughton Private Foundation. She has also
reached out to Bill Lawrence, Rep. Legislator, Warren Hart, Greene County
Tourism, and Chris Gibson, Rep, Congress for assistance.
New
Business
Ray
Houghtaling indicated that the American Legion is looking for help with the
cost of buying American flags that are placed above the Hometown Heroes
banners. They need about 100 new flags. Sylvia suggested that the Post
Commander write a formal letter to the CHS, indicating their need and
include the cost of the flags. Ray agreed to relay the message to Michael
Adrian, Post Commander.
John
Meddaugh indicated that the Acra Cemetery Association will be celebrating
its 100th anniversary in 2015 and there are special events
planned. He is asking the Cairo Historical Society if it could assist with
getting the word out. Additional land has been purchased that adjoins the
cemetery and new burials can be accommodated. The CHS is very willing to
help spread the word of the special events planned.
Ted
Banta mentioned that the new Police Department Headquarters will be open in
2015 at the site of the present assessors and building department offices on
Railroad Ave. Many folks at the meeting fondly remember Floyd Hempstead,
Cairo’s long running police officer.
Ted
mentioned that the petrified forest at the Cairo Highway Department location
needs development. Perhaps there is a grant that can help transform this
site into a teaching location. Sylvia mentioned that she has moved forward
with the application process to place this site on the National Register of
Historic Places.
Sylvia motioned to close the
business meeting at 8:28 and Ron Hasenkopf seconded the motion. All agreed.
Sylvia presented a slide show
presentation of the Cairo Fairgrounds.
Cairo Historical Society Minutes November 20, 2014
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Sylvia Hasenkopf, Gail Kargoe, Elton Rouse, Ray Houghtaling, Mark A. Gruppe,
Bunny and Phil Savino.
John called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. and noted that a quorum
does not exist. It was decided to have an informational meeting.
1)Minutes from October 16, 2014 meeting will be reviewed at the next
monthly meeting with a quorum.
2)The Treasurer’s Report was read. The General account has $9,361.39, the
Special Events account $2844.79 and the Building Fund account $14,897.39.
3)Membership update: Our membership increased by three members to
103. We are only 7 shy of our 2014 goal. The CHS welcomes new members Dorothy
Chadderdon, Cathy Weeks and Cathy Start.
4)We currently have 901 Facebook members, an increase of 33 members
since October. This month we discussed the Shinglekill Mill, John Bonetsteel and
Jimmy DiStefano, the fox, the Three Bears with Carol Spohler and Paul Alban, the
Mahayana Bhuddist Temple, Benny Richman, Cairo’s Petrified Forest, views of
Cairo, Schepp Family photos, Ebenezer Jennings, Cairo Auction Mart and the
Parisi family, the Cairo Family Tree. We also posted 24 hours of Hometown Heroes
Banners in honor of the men and women who served were posted on November 11th.
Earl Bailey’s obituary was also posted.
5)Collections: John Meddaugh donated a number of Meddaugh family photos.
Jim Warner donated pictures and newspaper articles of Cairo, a Hotel Walters
paperweight and the book Historic Catskill by Jesse Van Vechten Vedder. Candy
Ford donated the 1973 The Forge. Fran Monaghan donated an Asbury Club booklet,
newspaper articles and pics.
6)Item sales in last month: 2 Rails to the Catskills DVD, 1 Portrait of the
Past. Elizabeth Brinkerhoff emailed the CHS with an idea to sell shopping bags
with the Town of Cairo logo. This is an intriguing idea however the CHS logo
would be ideal in place of the Town of Cairo logo. Something to consider for the
future.
Old Business:
1.No update on CHS Logo.
2.No update on the letter to the Ulster/Delaware RR
3.Cleaning of tombstones was provided in the last meeting.
4.No update on repair/replacement of the Susquehannah Turnpike enclosure
Projects:
John provided an update on
the Cairo Depot. The Cairo Hose invited the CHS to its annual meeting. The
Cairo Hose Board wanted to assure the CHS that it is in support of the
entire Cairo Depot project and has no concerns about the boundary lines
between the CHS and Cairo Hose property. John indicated that there is a need
for 3 or 4 more plates; there are enough spikes. Sylvia advised that the
insurance for the CHS Headquarters and the Cairo Depot, combined, is
$719.95. The insurance requires a fence be erected along the escarpment by
the tracks, for the entire length of the escarpment. A snow fence will be
acceptable until the spring. John Kargoe advised that Robert Hempstead will
be erecting the snow fence for the CHS.
Sylvia advised that she met
with the Cairo Town Board and petitioned them for the waiver of Town fees.
The Cairo Town Board voted and decided to waive the Town fees for the
construction of our Headquarters. Many thanks go out to the Cairo Town Board
for their support.
Sylvia advised that the
Thurlow Weed marker is ready to be installed. A date of December 5, 2014 was
chosen for the unveiling. Robert Hempstead has agreed to install the pole
for the marker. A letter of invitation will be sent to the Cairo Town Board
members and to Audrey Mattot from the Daily Mail.
Sylvia advised that she has
completed the seven sections of the Cairo Cemetery that were targeted for
digitization this year. Only 4 sections are left to digitize.
Robert U. advised that he
investigated the status of the Solomon/Earle cemetery. It needs additional
work by removing small trees, scrub and other vegetation. The tombstones
need to be cleaned and set aright. As it is late in the year, this project
will begin in the spring.
Sylvia advised that 3
additional Hometown Heroes were submitted in the last month: John J. Ignazio
(WW2), Shirley E. Buel (WW2) and George Algozzine Jr. (WW2). An enquiry was
received from a Boy Scout in New Jersey who was interested in how we had put
the Hometown Heroes program together. He would like to partner with his
local historical society for his Eagle Project. Sylvia provided him with
information and our Hometown Heroes Application Kit.
Sylvia advised that the
Cairo Family Tree program was launched recently. Two bronze leaves have been
sponsored by the Pantoliano family. The National Bank of Coxsackie has
sponsored the owl and Sylvia Hasenkopf has purchased a cardinal. To date
$2800 has been raised. All proceeds will be deposited into the Headquarters
Building Fund.
Gail advised that the
Christmas float is about ¾ completed. Magnetic signs for the vehicle which
is pulling the float have been ordered. The signs state: Cairo Historical
Society. Gail and John will be away the weekend of the parade. Robert U.
will be the project lead on the final preparations.
New Business:
Sylvia advised that the
yearly CHS Christmas Party will occur at the December monthly meeting.
Robert U. will investigate the availability of the gentleman who has antique
Christmas ornaments and advise. Attendees are encouraged to bring snacks.
Bunny and Phil Savino joined
the Cairo Historical Society during tonight’s meeting. They are welcomed by
all. They also donated a few items including a WW2 Ration Book that was
owned by the Dyce family on Bross St.
A request was received from
Joseph E. Faltin, seeking more information on the Round Top House that he
visited as a child in the 1950’s. Old postcards from the early 20th
century were located but no pictures or postcards were located from the
1950’s.
Two separate requests were
received from Judy Browyer, seeking information on Anna Ingalls Gordon and
William Gordon, both from the Greenville or the Norton Hill area. She was
advised to contact the Vedder Research Library or Don Teator, the Greenville
Town Historian.
Cairo Historical Society Minutes December 18, 2014
Gail Kargoe, Interim Secretary
Members Present: John Kargoe,
Gail Kargoe, M.A. Tarpinian, Elton Rouse, Robert Uzzilia, Sherry True, Irene
Beede, Virginia Pedersen, Robert E. Dodge, Michael Lamanec, Ray Suttmeier, Ron
Hasenkopf, Ray Houghtaling, Nancy Houghtaling, Christy Pedeny, Tom Baldwin, John
Gallagher.
Guests: Sheila Gallagher, Susan
True, Jason Kirkman, Leigh Ann Wagner
President John Kargoe opened the
meeting @7:05 with the pledge. A motion was made by M.A. Tarpinian and seconded
by Elton Rouse to move the business meeting forward to the regular January
meeting in order to enjoy our Christmas party.
Sheila Gallagher donated two placemats from the Rockface Diner to be added to
our archives.