§2 Progress Report

Since going to press with Volume II in the Fall of 1969, steady progress has been made by the Society. The Harris-Husted house slowly becomes more sound and tight, thanks chiefly to Harold Klare and Frank French, who rarely miss a Saturday morning there, often joined by Frank Buckhout and Ed Woods. In January, 1970, they reported the last concrete sills in, an electric pole placed and two more sited. In May two lilac bushes and ten locust trees were added. In July a main beam went in, opening up the ground floor for a future meeting room. The small bedrooms on the parlor floor were scraped and painted the original color, a greyed turquoise. In September the floor was graded again, tarpaper and locust beams added for subflooring and wide boards were ordered in November. The house was opened for a meeting of the Pine Plains Garden Club in August and Mrs. Bergles, noted gardener of Rhinebeck, gave a precise and creative plan for the garden and creek bank. Since that time Frank French has planted 500 daffodils on the west bank.

Several programs were presented by the Society. Lyndon Haight, an authority on railroads, addressed the Society with a fine talk on 'The Central New England Railway" which was one of the railroads running through Pine Plains. Dr. Neal Allen of the History Department of Union College, Schenectady, spoke on "The Importance of Local Records." Mr. and Mrs. Winfleld Swanton produced a slide and music program entitled "Once Upon an Autumn Day," which resulted in part from the glorious photographs of our area taken by a New York City camera club. The photographs were edited by Win and a musical accompaniment was arranged by Ruth Swanton. Our president's son, Frederick Jordan of Poughkeepsie, gave a "cracker barrel" talk on "Growing Up in Pine Plains." In the Fall, the Society invited the Garden Club and the PTA to co-sponsor a public meeting at which a film on ecology was shown and a panel of distinguished neighbors spoke on what we can do to cherish and preserve our world.

In other areas we have cooperated with the Landmarks Society of Dutchess County. The Trustees of the Society suggested four houses to be considered for an award plaque, among them the Conklin Hill House, restored in 1967-68, and the Bullis House in Bangall, restored at about the same time. The I3ullis House was cited by Landmarks. Also, Mrs. Jack Rosenbaum is making for the Landmarks Society a photographic inventory of every building in the Township.

Jack Rosenbaum has agreed to plot the uncharted section of Evergreen Cemetery, including old stones moved from Bethel.

We have been offered several gifts. We accepted, with great joy, the bound copies of the Register-Herald 1882-1969, carefully preserved by Eda Grant Aroh and her brother Henry Grant, both Trustees of the Society. The purchaser of the Register-Herald, John Dyson of Millbrook, donated the collection to our Society. Harriet Righter gave a portrait of her Uncle John, son of William Righter, an early resident of Hammertown. Mrs. Alexander McNab presented us with a 13-star flag given her by her cousin Lydia Clements of Nova Scotia. Mrs. Robert Turner gave us an 1867 Beers Atlas of New York. A friend of the Society gave a cash donation to help defray the cost of printing Volume II.

The Society supported the efforts of the Harlem Valley Transportation Association to save the railroad in the northeast region of our county.

A testimonial dinner was given by the Society in honor of Eda Grant Aroh and Henry Grant, former publishers of the Pine Plains Register-Herald, in recognition of their many years of service to the town.

We took special pleasure in making one of the first gifts to the Fund Drive of Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck, to honor Dr. Walter W. Wicks, who has served Pine Plains for more than 42 years.

We have about 130 members, some not very active, who supported the Society's annual appeal for funds most generously. During Old Home Week they bought chances on a copy of Isaac Huntting's "Little Nine Partners" and donated gifts to a tag sale, which netted the Society over $1,300, sorely needed to help pay the costs of restoring the Harris-Husted house and printing our publications.

The Henry Noble MacCracken Award was made to Lyndon Haight for his manuscript on the railroads and it is expected that this will be a source of material for a future publication.

Our time between publications II and III has been quietly fruitful. We need more people who will research local history- houses, schools, churches, businesses and families-anything of local interest. Our accomplishments would be more, had we more workers. But for those who are helping, we have the greatest gratitude.

Foreword	Table of Contents		About the Author
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