At a Ceremony at the Historical Society of Woodstock on lower Comeau, the Town of Woodstock and HSW put signatures to a long-term lease for the Historical Societies continued use of the Eames building and Alf Evers Park. Pictured signing the lease are Supervisor Jeff Moran and Historical Society President Deborah Heppner.  Witnessing the signing (from left to right) are: Councilwoman Cathy Margarelli; HSW board members Letitia Smith and Kathy Anderson, Councilwoman Terrie Rosenblum, and Town Clerk Jackie Early.  The Historical Society will kick off the sumer season on June 18 with its new exhibit: "Faces and Places - A Small Town Portrait". (Woodstock Times, June 2, 2011)

Summer 2011 Exhibitions and Events: 

Exhibition: Faces and Places - A Small Town Portrait, June 18 - September 4, 2011  

Anita Smith

Charlie Tiano

Wilna Hervey

Konrad Cramer

Pinball Palace

Longyear House on Rock City Rd. more

A unique look at the people and the places that are a part of Woodstock's story. Open Saturdays and Sundays, 1-5 p.m.

Woodstock and the 1970s - The Historical Society of Woodstock Takes a Look Back

The 1970s represented years of change in Woodstock. Buffeted by internal and 
external events alike, Woodstock entered the post-festival era facing a host of new
issues, as a once quiet mountain town took on challenges presented by the arrival 
of individuals seeking utopia and finding reality, changing political demographics, 
the establishment of Family and the demand for its services, what to do with 
Woodstock kids, a rapidly changing music and art scene, changes in the local 
economy, battles over local welfare rolls and CETA workers, and debate over town-
wide decisions such as the purchase of the Comeau property.  

What was it like to live in Woodstock during those years?  That will be the question 
put to a number of long-time Woodstockers this Sunday as the Historical Society of 
Woodstock examines Woodstock and the 1970s. On hand for the discussion will be 
D.J. Boggs, Brett Munson, John and Janine Mower, Tinker Twine and others. The 
event, as part of the Historical Society's "On the Porch Series," will be held at 
3:00 p.m., Sunday August 31. Moderated by Town Historian Richard Heppner, 
the discussion will take place in the quiet beauty of Alf Evers Park at the Historical 
Society's site on lower Comeau Drive. (In the event of rain, the discussion will be held inside the HSW museum.) Admission is free and refreshments 
will be served. While there, visitors are invited to view HSW's exciting summer exhibit - with many new additions - Faces and Places: A Portrait of a 
Small Town.  HSW's gift shop will also be open, offering a variety of local history books and gifts relating to Woodstock.  For further information, 
call 679-2143. more 

Snapshots of Woodstock - The Intersection of Photos in Family Albums with Local Historians 
Sunday, August 7 at 2:00 p.m. Author Janine Fallon Mower offers a slide presentation of images of Woodstockers in their everyday life 
- woven into the history of their community. What makes the seeming uninteresting family picture from the past valuable to a community 

in the future?

In compiling images to use in her Woodstock and Woodstock Revisited books, author 
Janine Fallon-Mower had the rare opportunity to sit with Woodstockers and review their 
personal photo albums and reminisce about Woodstock life as they remembered it.  As 
a result, those photographs – thought simply as pictures of friends and family - were 
transformed into historic images of Woodstock life when Fallon-Mower included their 
memories in her work.  

This Sunday, at the Historical Society of Woodstock, Fallon-Mower will present a number 
of those images, as well as photographs included in her American Tapestry, the Mowers 
of Maple Lane as she examines changes in Woodstock over the years and offers a 
community photo album as a fascinating way to view the evolution on one’s hometown.

The presentation begins at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday August 7 at the Historical Society of 
Woodstock on Lower Comeau Drive. Admission is free and refreshments will be served. 
                    Woodstock: As it Once Was (Photo Credit: Janine Fallon-Mower)

Film Screening: Aquarian Rushes 

Saturday, August 13, 1:00, Upstate Films/Woodstock, admission $10

On August 13, the Historical Society is presenting a film screening at the Upstate Films theater in Woodstock. A short 16 mm film on Clarence Schmidt, entitled Clarence, will be screened, as well as Aquarian Rushes, a documentary on the Woodstock Festival of 1969. Both films are by a sixties Woodstock filmmaker Jud Yalkut, who garnered international recognition on the film circuit. Aquarian Rushes was shown at the Montreal International Festival of Film and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, among other venues. Jud Yalkut will give a brief introduction.  Proceeds from this event will help support the Historical Society. press - press release - Jud Yalkut bio - Clarence Schmidt - more - images

A reception will follow at the Historical Society on Comeau Drive. FishCastle Music featuring Cyril Caster 
and Catherine Selin, Alf Evers’s granddaughter, will be performing at the reception.

... if you missed it more

Ian Turner, 16 mm projectionist; John Sebastian, musician; Jud Yalkut, filmmaker - August 13, 201

The Historical Society of Woodstock gratefully acknowledges support for this event from: Ametek Rotron, H. Houst & Son, Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Rondout Savings                         Bank, Sunflower Natural Foods Market, Ulster Savings, Woodstock Building Supply, & Woodstock Meats … with special thanks to Nina Yankowitz.

HSW History Club

Talking Houses Exhibit:  If you missed it at the Historical Society, The Woodstock History Kids Club, an ongoing program of HSW, will present their unique look 
at Woodstock buildings and their history at WAAM from July 23 – August 21.  Opening Reception will be held Saturday July 23 from 4:00–6:00 p.m.  Examples 
of some of the buildings are now on display in the window of the Golden Notebook.

The Woodstock Kids History Club at the  Historical Society of Woodstock, under the direction of Jill Olesker, has been involved in a project called Talking Houses. Each member (including the adults helping) chose a building in the center of town that fascinated them. The reasons for their choices were varied , but once chosen the historical research began! They used the Woodstock Collection at the Woodstock Public library with the enthusiastic assistance from library director Amy Raff. They visited and worked with Town Assessor Mark Plate, interviewed people who own or remember how the buildings were used in the past and had an enormous amount of help from the Historical Society’s archivist JoAnn Margolis. Ms. Margolis both provided materials and taught them how to use them. Art teacher Linda Schultz took photos of the buildings on a walking tour with the kids so that we could use them later to help create large models. These models were constructed with Ms. Schultz’s help. Ms. Olesker helped each student choose a different approach or style to write a narrative using their research that would tell the history of their building. On Saturday, June 25, we will each duck behind our buildings and share our narratives one at a time, thus making it appear that the houses are talking! The culmination of the project will be Saturday, June 25 from 1pm-3pm at the Eames House on Comeau Drive in Woodstock. Our presentation will take place at 2 pm. Admission is free and refreshments will be served. photos - more