View as Webpage

October 2024

All-digital Hurley Heritage Society Prologue

Greetings from Main Street!

 Welcome to the fall edition of Prologue, our online newsletter. The Hurley Heritage Society has had an exciting 2024 season.  On this, the  50th anniversary of the founding of the Society, we planned three events to celebrate. The spring event  was the return of our popular rooster art auction where 23 beautifully painted Hurley roosters were auctioned off at Crosspoint Fellowship Church. Last month we held Hurley Heritage Day, a fun filled community event with food, music,  vendors, children’s activities, walking tours of Main Street and more. Read more about the day later in this Prologue. This fall, we also brought back two popular annual events, the fall Chrysanthemum sale and the herbal  wreath making workshop.   I wholeheartedly thank everyone who was involved in the planning and execution of these events as well as the community who came out to support us.

This October, in conjunction with the Burning of Kingston event, we hosted our final 2024 lecture, Molly Houses, Homosexuality and  the 18^th Century English Colonial World, at the old Dutch Church in Kingston with reception at the HV LGBTQ Community Center. The event was very well attended with a robust Q&A.

Also, the HHS offered 3 special walking tours on October 20th during the Burning of Kingston Capital to Capital 5k run/walk, sponsored by the Kingston Rotary. Almost 100 runners/walkers participated in this years race, and the HHS was on hand to provide refreshments and opened the museum for visitors.

And we’re not done yet! I hope you will join us at the Château in Kingston on December 6^th for our final celebratory event, a festive evening of dinner and holiday entertainment. The event features a visit from Saint Nicholas, along with three vignettes designed to give our guests a glimpse into the history of how Hurley celebrated the feast of Saint Nicholas and Christmas.  Reservations can be made online at our website.  This event will also honor two of our members, Bruce and Gail Whistance,  for their outstanding contributions to the Hurley Heritage Society.

Lastly, don’t forget about our museum holiday boutique which will be held the weekend following Thanksgiving.

This is the time of year that we announce the slate of trustees for the 2025 year.  There will be a membership meeting on November 16^th at 2 PM at Crosspoint Church. I urge all HHS members to attend to vote on the slate of trustees as well as an updated constitution and bylaws.

In closing I want to thank our board of trustees, our members and our very supportive community. It is through your support and generosity that we continue to grow!

Diane Blakely

President

    Hurley Heritage Society

dianemblakely@gmail.com

Notice of Hurley Heritage Society Annual Meeting

The Hurley Heritage Society’s annual membership meeting will be held Saturday November 16, 2024 at 2 PM at Cross Point Church, 459 Hurley Avenue, Hurley, N.Y. We urge all HHS members in good standing to attend. We will be voting on the slate of trustees for 2025 and the updated Constitution and By-Laws. Light refreshments will be served.

To view the current roster of Officers and Trustees for the 2024 year, please refer to our website, www.hurleyheritagesociety.org, under About Us.

The proposed Constitution and By-Laws updates can also be viewed on our website.

There is one member up for re-election this year, Diane Blakely.

If approved, the 2025 Board of trustees will be as follows:

Officers:

President – Open, to be voted on at the January 2925 Board meeting

Vice President - Kathy McMahon

Treasurer-- Bill Ryan

Corresponding Secretary - Barbara Zell

Recording Secretary - Ellen Young

Past President-- Dale Bohan

Trustees:

Diane Blakely

Maureen Bowers

Katherine Chansky

Pat Findholt

Raleigh Green

Mike Rice

Ellen Richards

Virginia Starke

A Hurley Heritage Society 50th Anniversary Celebration

December 6th

Mark your calendars! You won’t want to miss Hurley Heritage Society’s 3^rd and final 50^th Anniversary celebration—a festive Dinner and Holiday Entertainment at The Chateau in Kingston on Friday, December 6, 2024 (the Feast of St Nicholas)! 

A highlight of the evening will be a special award being presented to Gail and Bruce Whistance for their outstanding contributions to the Hurley Heritage Society. Bruce and Gail have each served on the HHS Board of Trustees and curated several of our exhibits. Bruce is responsible for the current popular exhibit “Post Offices of Hurley –1837 to the Present” which opened in 2023, and Gail curated the outstanding exhibit “Winslow Homer’s Hurley – an Artist’s View” which ran from 2020-2022. Their dedication to HHS’s mission and to the history of the area is inspiring.

Please join us in honoring Bruce and Gail Whistance on December 6^th!

Entertainment will include a visit from St. Nicholas, along with three vignettes, designed to give guests a glimpse into the history of how Hurley celebrated the Feast of St. Nicholas and Christmas. You’ll see how the Dutch celebrated the Feast of St. Nicholas, in the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries, learn about Hurley during the American Revolution, witness the evolution of St. Nicholas into Santa Claus, and a chorus will delight you with a medley of holiday songs.

Hurley Heritage Society is fortunate to have Lise Landis Hopson writing and directing the theatre component of the December 6^th event. Lise is drawing upon the works of Washington Irving, Clement Moore’s famous poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” and Charles Dickens’ “The Night Before Christmas.”

Thank you Lise for donating your time and talent! Lise began her professional career as a singer, dancer, and actress, but found her life’s calling as a director, choreographer, and vocal director of musical theatre. At Coleman High School here in Hurley she directed 47 Broadway musicals. She has also been involved in theatre at Kingston Catholic School and Dutchess Community College Summer Performing Arts Institute.

Event Details:

Friday, December 6 (Saint Nicholas Day)

6:00 - 10:00 p.m.

The Chateau, 240 Boulevard (Route 32), Kingston, NY

Hors D’oeuvres, Three-Course Dinner, Cash Bar

$110 for HHS Members, $125 for non-members

Reservations can be made online at our website hurleyheritageociety.org. There is also a downloadable reservation form.

Nov 30th and Dec 1st

Mark your calendar! The Hurley Heritage Society will hold our annual Holiday Boutique on Saturday, November 30^th 10AM to 3PM and Sunday, December 1^st 11AM to 3PM. You’ll find a treasure trove of holiday items, collectibles, jewelry and more donated by our generous community. Proceeds help support our Museum.

In addition, the Museum gift shop will be open. Hurley memorabilia is a much-appreciated gift! You’ll find a great selection of delftware, Hurley t-shirts, ball caps, books, and rooster mugs. Don’t miss this opportunity to get the perfect holiday gift for friends and family!

Please consider donating your gently used holiday items and decorations, new gifts and toys, and vintage items for the sale. Donations can be left on the Museum back porch or contact Diane Blakely (845-943-0493) for pick-up

We look forward to seeing you at the Museum, 52 Main Street, Hurley, to kick off the holiday season with this fun community event!

Here at the Museum, we kicked off Autumn with two of our most popular annual events.

In September we held an herbal wreath making workshop, once again led by Ellen Richards. Participants created and took home lovely fall wreaths.  Assisting Ellen in the collection of fall herbs and foliage, and in the workshop were Dale Bohan, Joan Castka and Cathy Dumond. Our volunteers also created a few wreaths that were sold at Hurley Heritage Day.

We also held one of our most popular fundraisers, the Fall Mum Sale. Pat Findholt was assisted by Flo Brandt, Barbara and Chris Zell, and Cathy Dumond. We also had an assist from two junior volunteers, Tobin and Cole Shober. Our yard was filled with the colorful blooms from Boice’s Farm.

Thank you to these dedicated volunteers and to our neighbors who come out every year to support us. All proceeds go towards the support of the Hurley Heritage Society Museum.

Part 2 of a 3-part series celebrating 50 years of The Hurley Heritage Society -

The purchase and creation of the Hurley Heritage Society Museum, as recalled by long-time member and past president Joan Castka.

Since its inception, the goal of the Society was to own and open a historic stone house on Hurley’s Main Street as a museum. We knew we would have to raise a lot of money towards this end. And so began our fundraisers. Our most successful fundraiser was the Corn and Craft Festival which was held for 35 years. Since corn was the main crop grown on the Hurley flats and craft shows were becoming popular, society members Shirley and Ron Rifenburg originated the festival and chaired it for many years. The shows were held in the parking lot and hall of the Hurley Dutch Reformed church. Vendors sold handmade crafts and the society’s food concession, chaired by Virginia Murphy, made and sold food. The last festival was held in 2015.

Another successful fundraiser and joint venture was the sale of porcelain stone houses made by Hurley’s Wendy Bowen. Wendy’s business made replicas of seven of Hurley‘s Main Street stone houses. Hurley women painted them, and the society sold them as a fundraiser. The Hurley Reformed Church sold Wendy’s replicas of the church. The porcelain houses are no longer made, and the originals have become quite valuable. 3 of the houses are still available in the museum gift shop!

Barn sales, chaired by Iris Oseas, were first held on the Half Moon tavern property.

Merchandise was collected and stored in the barn. After the Colonel Jonathan P. Elmendorf house was purchased by the society, sales were held on our property.

At the same time as these fundraisers were being held, the society held lectures free to the public at the Hurley Reformed church four times a year and published a newsletter, The Prologue, named by Don Kent. (“ The past is prologue.”)

In July 1989, still not able to afford to purchase a stone house, the society did the next best thing and rented a room in the Half Moon tavern for $25 a month to exhibit items of local interest. The one room museum was open on weekends from May through October and was staffed by society members.

In 2000, having accumulated $195,000.00 from fundraisers and donations, the society was able to realize its original goal and purchased the Colonel Jonathan P. Elmendorf stone house on Hurley’s historic Main Street. After a year of hard work to restore the museum building and make it handicapped accessible to the public, the museum opened in the spring of 2001, and has since featured exhibits on Hurley in the Revolution, the Ashokan reservoir, the bluestone industry, farming, Winslow Homer, Hurley‘s post offices and Eagles’ Nest. The following newspaper articles appeared in the Kingston Daily Freeman.

The museum has always been open, free of charge to the public. None of this would have been possible without the help of dedicated volunteers working together for the past 50 years towards the goal of keeping Hurley’s history alive. What a wonderful accomplishment. Thank you and congratulations to you all!

This article appeared in the Kingston Daily Freeman building to announce the purchase of the new museum in the Jonathon P. Elmendorf house.

Hurley Heritage Society makes big move Saturday

After more than a decade, the Hurley Heritage Society Museum is finally going to move into its dream house.

On Saturday, the museum plans to transport the bulk of its artifacts and its archives across Main Street in old Hurley from its current rented quarters to its new home in the Jonathan P. Elmendorf house.

Old Hurley, which has the oldest and largest concentration of 18^th-century stone Dutch houses in the state, provides artifacts, rich in the town’s early colonial and agricultural history for the museum’s display, Jon Oseas, the society’s treasurer said.

Much larger in colonial times, Hurley encompassed much of Marbletown, West Hurley, Rosendale, Bloomington and stretched almost to New Paltz, he said.

For the last 12 years, the museum and gift shop have been housed in a 350 square-foot room in the stone Half Moon house, Oseas said. But the museum has outgrown the rented space.

The artifacts – – including an old Bluestone quarrying wagon, which is among a few items that have already been moved , a corn planter and other antique agricultural equipment – – have been kept in an unheated barn behind the museum he said.

During those cramped years  Oseas said the society saved enough money to purchase a new home for the museum, raising the $195,000 needed to buy the Elmendorf house through donations, bequests, membership fees, the proceeds of barn sales and 20 years of corn and craft festivals.

The society plans to apply for state and federal grants to get money needed for repairing and restoring the new building, Oseas said.

The Elmendorf house gives the group 2424 square feet in which to expand the museum and gift shop and to house the archives,  protecting them from the elements,  Oseas said.

The building’s two-story,  two-bay garage will also provide room to display artifacts and store equipment, Oseas said. The entire building will be accessible to people in wheelchairs, he said.

With the move, records will be more readily accessible to people researching their ancestry and early colonial history, Oseas said. Most records will be stored on the second floor, he said.

On Saturday, members of the society, working as a team, will push wheelbarrows, load pickup trucks and hand-carry items across the street, according to the society’s president, Shirley Rifenberg.

Rifenburg says she anticipates the museum will continue to be open seasonally, May through October, with the volunteer staff.

Museum opens at Elmendorf house

This article appeared in the Kingston Daily Freeman building following the opening of the new museum on Sunday July 30^th  in the Jonathon P. Elmendorf House at 52 Main Street, Hurley, NY.  

The Hurley Heritage Society, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year has realized its long-time dream with the opening of a new museum in one of the oldest stone houses in this pre-American revolution hamlet.

At ceremonies Sunday, society chairman Gil Richter gave thanks to Ruth and Sylvester Lord, owners of the Elmendorf house ,who made it possible for this society to use part of the building to house its collection of artifacts, most of which have been donated by residents.

The Elmendorf house dates from the late 1600s and is a landmark on Main Street. The space now occupied by the museum was the Half Moon tavern during revolutionary times.

It’s wide beam floors and huge Dutch hearth are a perfect setting for the society’s museum display of furniture, including an authentic spinning wheel and infant’s highchair and other items that trace Hurley‘s colorful history.

Richter also thanked Shirley and Ronald Rifenburg for the enormous amount of work they have donated to the society toward the opening of the museum, including building display cases, renovating the space and finishing floors.

Work was completed literally moments before the formal opening at which the couple received a plaque from the society as a tribute for their work.

On hand for the dedication was town Supervisor Alfred DiCaprio, who congratulated society members on the beautiful museum and praised the people who put in such a large amount of hours to complete the project.

The Reverend Charles Stickley of Hurley Reformed Church opened the ceremony with a prayer and spoke of the museum as a way to “preserve the past, which enriches our future and our present “. 

Standing in for her husband Ulster County Legislator Philip Sinagra of Hurley, Emily Sinagra presented the society with a plaque from the County Legislature in honor of the museum’s opening.

The Rifenburgs were given the honor of cutting the ribbon across the front of the museum. They used an original old Hurley Indian chopping stone. “I couldn’t think of any better implement for cutting the ribbon” said Richter adding that the chopper honored the Native Americans who were Hurley‘s first residents. 



Richter said the society plans to have the museum open on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the summer and fall. 

On July 23^rd, we were honored to host around 40 members of the Ostrander family who were here to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Ostrander Family Association (Ostrander.org). While visiting Hurley, they visited the Abe Houghtaling House which was the second home built by Pieter Pietersen Ostrander, their North American progenitor, around 1710. Pieter sold the house to his third son, Pieter Ostrander, and the property would remain in the Ostrander family until 1788.

The Houghtaling House is believed to be the site of a reception for George Washington as he rode through town in 1782. Town Historian James Decker gave the Ostrander Reunion a tour of his home, the Ostrander/Elmendorf house, which is the third home built in Hurley by Pieter Pietersen Ostrander. The lot on which it was built was originally set aside as the minister’s lot, and was transferred to Pieter in 1708. Pieter will build a portion of the current house on the lot and sells it to his third son Arent in 1715. They also visited the cemetery and placed flowers on the final resting places of their ancestors.   

Following walking tours of Main Street, they visited the museum and relaxed with some of our members. We enjoyed meeting the members of this group who traveled from New York, Florida, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Toronto, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, Alabama, North Carolina, Ottawa, California, and Vermont!   

Congratulations to nationally known artist Judy Howard! Judy resides near Hurley and her painting, “On a February Afternoon,” was accepted for the 2024 Pastel Society of America (PSA) 52^nd Annual Exhibition: “Enduring Brillance!” The show was held at the National Arts Club in NYC September 3 - 26.  You can find the paintings online at pastelsocietyofamerica.org.

This is Judy’s third acceptance for a PSA exhibit, making her a Signature Member of the Society. The Pastel Society of America is largely responsible for the current renaissance of pastels in American art. The Society’s annual exhibitions at The National Arts Club in New York are the premier event for pastel artists in this country and abroad.

Three of Judy’s prints—Violia’s Front Porch, Path Through History, and Hurley Reformed Church—are for sale in the Hurley Heritage Museum gift shop. Do check them out when you visit the museum for our Annual Holiday Sale on November 30^th and December 1^st.

Judy is also working on another exciting project! At HHS’s Hurley Heritage Day on September 21st, Hurley town historian Jimmy Decker won the raffle of a hand-painted metal rooster. Judy will paint a picture of his house—the Ostrander/Elmendorf House—on the rooster made by Wayne Waligurski of Patentee Manor.

 Judy Howard is a past member of the HHS Board of Trustees, and has generously contributed beautiful pastel paintings to all of HHS’s fall auctions. Again, congratulations, Judy!

On a picture-perfect fall day in September, Schoolhouse Lane in Hurley was bustling with activity as the Hurley Heritage Society presented our second Hurley Heritage day. The event has not been held since 2019. This event was the second of three events that HHS planned to celebrate our 50th anniversary.

We had over 25 craft and informational vendors, delicious food served up by food trucks from Mad Flava and Vinnie‘s fine foods, and our unique Snack Shack with cider and snacks donated by Stewarts Shops.    Our festive Harvest Booth sold products donated by Philip Orchards, Hudson Valley Farm Hub, Davenport Farm  and the Bruderhof. Music that provided a festive backdrop kicked off with the folk stylings of folk singer Al Havrilla, followed by the unique blend of 20 century rock by the Creepy Uncles and culminated with the Grammy award-winners, Jay Unger and Molly Mason. Children’s activities were provided by the Hurley Library, Hurley Nursery School and face painting and tattoos by Lynne Baily and Marissa Litts   

We continued the tradition of celebrating our town’s rich history and heritage with walking tours of Main Street provided by Angie Mahdavian and Richard Cattabiani, visitation to two stone houses, Spy House  (the home of Katie Greaves and Alex Perfect), and VanDeusen house, (the home of Iris Oseas and Miriam Gibbons) as well as a visit to the porch of the  historic TenEyke  house to see Dan Zalewski’s collection of antique Victrolas.  Visitors were treated to a native American equinox ceremony performed by Reverend Nick Miles, and got to chat with  reenactor Hank Yost. Gina Martin provided a spinning demonstration and Wally Cook worked with visitors to create their own pens in a wood turning demonstration. All while our Town Crier David Kent worked his way through the crowd announcing events.

Our sincere appreciation goes out to the many dedicated volunteers, performers, and businesses that contributed to make this community event a success, including the Town of Hurley for their assistance in road closures and planning, the Hurley Library for the gracious sharing of their parking lot for the vendors, and Hurley Reformed Church and Myer School for parking.  In addition, thanks to the following who sponsored our 50th anniversary celebrations.

As part of our ongoing lecture series, the Hurley Heritage Society, in conjunction with the Burning of Kingston events, hosted Prof Dr Megan Victor to discuss the fascinating story of Molly Houses, Homosexuality and the 18th Century English Colonial World. Highly insightful about life in the 1700s and presented by a very engaging speaker. If you missed the show, you can view it online here: https://fb.watch/vsN6SbMB1X/

Thank you Dr. Megan Victor for coming up to our neck of the woods to share your research with us. And thank you Old Dutch Church, Kingston, New York for hosting! (PS. we will now never think of 'Yankee Doodle' song quite the same!

We’ve continued to stock the Museum Gift Shop with a variety of new merchandise including Yankee candles, Body lotions from Sweet Sprig, Harney Teas, locally made jams, Woodstock chimes, children’s books, and some handmade crafts.  You’ll also find your old favorites — Hurley t-shirts, hats, mugs, shopping bags, books and Delft items featuring Holland’s iconic symbols –-- tulips, wooden shoes and windmills.   We also carry some of Wendy Bowen’s porcelain houses from around the country as well as Hurley’s stone houses. We’ve added have a new selection of colorful Ladies V-neck t-shirts featuring the Hurley Rooster.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 PM through the end of October. We will also be open on November 30^th and December 1^st during our annual holiday boutique. Please consider donating your gently used holiday items and decorations, new gifts and toys, and vintage items for the sale. Donations can be left on the Museum back porch or contact Diane Blakely (845-943-0493) for pick-up.



A big Thank you to the many dedicated volunteers who staffed the shop this season. Volunteers are still needed to work at the shop from May through October. It’s a fun way to spend an afternoon. If you’re interested in helping out, please call or email Kathy McMahon (kmcmahon287@gmail.com, 845-340-0051, home or 845-399-0317, cell) or go to the volunteer link on the HHS website: Hurley Heritage Society | Hurley Heritage Museum | Hurley NY.

In fondest memory of Jim Lee, a gifted woodworker whose artistry and passion brought beauty to the world. His fine craftsmanship graces the antique-style frame of the reimagined Eagle's Nest sign, a prized piece in our current exhibit. Jim's dedication to his craft and his generosity to our museum and the community will always be remembered. Rest in peace, Jim. Your legacy lives on in the art you created.

Our Heritage walk on the front lawn of the Museum grounds continues to grow! Show your support for the HHS Museum by purchasing a brick in your family’s name or to honor someone close to you. For a $125 donation your brick will be added to the walk.

The inscription may be composed with as many as four lines of eighteen characters. If interested, please contact Wally Cook at (845) 338-2193 or send an email to wally.cook@gmail.com.

 If you have a passion for Hurley and local history and are looking for a way to become more involved in the community, the Hurley Heritage Society offers many opportunities! Founded 50 years ago, our mission is to protect and preserve materials, documents and artifacts pertaining to the Hurley area, and raise awareness and educate the public of the town’s special heritage through events, lectures, programs, tours and community initiatives.  

We are an all-volunteer organization, and sponsor a variety of activities including walking tours of historic main street, our popular ZOOM lectures on local culture and history, children’s activities in partnership with the Hurley library, and informative demonstrations. We also operate the Museum which remains free and open to the public, and houses the Dutch room and a gift shop. Last  year we unveiled 2 exciting new exhibits, Post Offices of Hurley: 1837 - Present and  Eagle’s Nest: Exploring the Myths and Reality.

Volunteers are always needed to greet visitors, volunteer in our gift shop, assist with events, and maintain our collections, the museum, and grounds.  If you are interested, please go to the volunteer link on the HHS website: Hurley Heritage Society | Hurley Heritage Museum | Hurley NY.