The Heritage and Genealogical Society of Montgomery County, in cooperation with the Montgomery County Department of History & Archives, will host its 6th annual "Heritage Day" event on Saturday, May 10th from 10am to 3pm at the Town of Glen Municipal Building on 7 Erie Street in Fultonville. The event is free and open to the public.
As in the past, the event brings together local authors and historical societies/museums in an effort to raise awareness of the Mohawk Valley's rich heritage. Books and various items will be available for sale, as well as refreshments and a bake sale. Lunch, made by members of the Fonda-Fultonville Seniors, will be available for purchase at noon.
David J. Pitkin, retired teacher and author, will be this year's guest speaker. He has sought solutions to mysteries throughout
his life. In the 1960s he became fascinated with the workings of the unconscious mind and on the growing evidence for consciousness
surviving body death. Since visiting a haunted barn in 1968, and the "Riley House" in Saratoga Springs, NY, in 1978, he has
experienced a number of paranormal phenomena, collecting over 800 folktales of hauntings in Canada, the U.S., and around the world.
Many of these are detailed in his book, Ghosts of the Northeast and his recent works:
Conducting investigations for thirty-five years at many reputedly haunted sites in New York State, the New England states and Canada, he has become a philosopher lecturing on death. A resident of Chestertown, NY, Pitkin lectures widely on parapsychology and metaphysical themes, including ghost stories. On summer evenings, he tells ghost stories at Fort William Henry in Lake George, NY. He studied dream analysis with Dr. Montague Ullman and facilitated a dream study group for eleven years. Pitkin believes many dreams of the departed are genuine ghost or spirit contacts. He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Social Studies Education from S.U.N.Y., Albany, and a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from Goddard College, Plainfield, VT. He is a professional numerologist and also credentialed as a Reiki Master. Pitkin will have his books available for signing and purchase.
Several authors will be on hand to discuss and sell their books. Included in that group is Doris E. Schuyler, who after teaching in the Greater Amsterdam School District and Broadalbin for a combined total of 30 years, has written The Adirondack Princess (1982) and its sequel The Adirondack Princess II, an historical sketch called Butlersbury, and a biographical novel titled Aunt Cad. In addition to herself, Schuyler promotes other local authors through her publishing firm Canal Side Publishers.
Donald R. Williams, recipient of the 2003 Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor Commission's "Heritage Hero" award, has authored nine books on Adirondack and local history and lore and writes a weekly Adirondack newspaper column published throughout the region. He is well known throughout New York State for his Adirondack storytelling, sharing the lives of the Adirondack settlers and visitors through the oral history and humorous stories.
A. Joyce Berry has compiled eight non-fiction and fiction books about the Revolutionary War and that turbulent era's impact on the Mohawk Valley: the non-fiction Time of Terror series covers Colonel Jacob Klock's regiment of the 2nd Tryon Militia, the overwhelming devastation of the VAlley during war, and the settlers that came to this area; the historical novel Out of Time series includes time travel, romance, intrigue and a story about the people and what it was like living in a different period of time; and the Don't Shoot series, co-written with Gloversville City Historian Jim Morrison, transcribes Revolutionary War pensions of Mohawk Valley veterans.
Her interest in genealogy led Gloversville resident, Marcia Buffett, to discover that she had ancestors who participated in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. She wrote From the Mountains, a tale of four men from the Fulton and Hamilton County areas which was inspired by her Civil War relative, Dwella Groff who was wounded and captured at Deep Bottom, Virginia. Last Canvas is a story with the backdrop of the Underground Railroad and her newest book, Near Midnight, deals with the Revolutionary War.
Ken Johnson, a native of Nebraska, has spent the past two decades or more studying the lives and personalities of the "Defenders of Fort Plank" and the "partisans of the Mohawk Valley." His work, The Bloodied Mohawk, provides a wealth of genealogical data that has been extracted from hundreds of Revolutionary War pension applications.
Jacqueline Murphy, a native of Amsterdam and retired Montgomery County Historian, has written several articles for Mohawk Valley USA, a pamphlet on out county's namesake General Richard Montgomery, and most recently a history of the St. Mary's Parish in Amsterdam.
Among the authors to be participating in "Heritage Day" for the first time are Jim LaBate, Jeff O'Connor, Mark Silo, and Lucille Graf.
Another Amsterdam native, Jim LaBate has written novels about growing up in "the Rug City." Let's Go, Gaels and Mickey Mantle Day in Amsterdam are written from the perspective of 12-year old boys pondering every day events in their lives until certain happenings teach valuable lessons. Things I Threw in the River: The Story of One Man's Life is a first-person narrative of a boy during the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s in which he tells related stories about things that he threw in the Mohawk River and why. Beginning when the boy is four years old, the incidents continue through his life with the final, most dramatic, story occuring in 1988 when the narrator is a 37-year old man.
Jeff O'Connor has published many articles pertaining to colonial and Revolutionary War history. His book, Thunder in the Valley, is a story of the Schoharie Valley and the Loyalist uprising that led to the first calvary charge of the United States Army at the Battle of the Flockey on August 13, 1777. O'Connor is a resident of Gallupville and serves as Commanding Officer in the Stone Fort Volunteer Militia.
Mark Silo has pursued a lifelong interest in American history through travel and research. What began with research, speaking and writing about the 115th New York Regiment as a hobby has culminated in the 2007 publication of The 115th New York and the Civil War. In telling the story of the soldiers of the 115th New York, common men from Saratoga County, the Mohawk Valley and the Adirondacks, Silo utilizes the words and recollections left by sixty-seven of these men, as well as vast amounts of source material regarding the events and the battles they experienced. The encampment for the 115th was located outside of Fonda on the way to Johnstown. Silo is an amateur historian, a professional civil engineer and Assistant Commissioner for the New York State Department of Transportation.
Lucille Graf has been writing since the age of nine. Her fiction and non-fiction works have appeared in local and national publications. Flintlocks and Flames is her first book and she is working on a sequel.
Artisans displaying their talents at "Heritage Day" include Cheryl Baitsholts with spinning, Ray Graf with hand-crafted jewelry, and Lee Billington will demonstrate the art of chair caning. Exhibits and representatives from a wide expanse of hsitoric sites/museums from across the Mohawk Valley include Old Fort Johnson, Herkimer Home, Schoharie Crossing, Friends of Sanford Stud Farm, Fulton County Historical Society, Piseco Historical Society, "Adopt a Cemetery", Clan Montgomery, Fonda Dutch Reformed Church, Galway Preservation Society, Johnstown Historical Society, Lake Pleasant Historical Society, Sharon Historical Society, Walter Elwood Museum, and Wells Historical Society.
This year’s raffle includes a variety of items to enable you to continue your enjoyment of history long after Heritage Day. Raffle items include the following DVD titles: "The War that Made America," describing the French & Indian War; "Benedict Arnold," starring Aidan Quinn; "The Presidents" 3 DVD set; the History Channel’s "The Revolution" four disk set; and "Haunted Houses," a DVD travelogue of haunted places in America including New York’s Raynham Hall and its redcoat spy. Each DVD or set will be offered as a separated raffle item in addition to a potpourri of items normally including Beer’s History offered for sale by the Heritage & Genealogical Society. Many of the participating authors have also donated one of their books for the raffle as well.
The Heritage & Genealogical Society of Montgomery County was organized in 1976, as a non-profit group to assit in preserving the invaluable heritage of Montgomery County through its support of the Montgomery County Department of History & Archives. Funds raised through membership and events are used to purchase books and materials enabling the Department of History & Archives to enhance its collection.
For more information on "Heritage Day," please contact the Montgomery County Dept. of History & Archives at 518-853-8186 or to purchase raffle tickets stop by the office at the Old Courthouse, 9 Park Street in Fonda during office hours 8:30am-4pm.
© Copyright: 2008 Montgomery County, New York