2012 Exhibitions and Events

Ceremony at the Historical Society of Woodstock

Historical Society of Woodstock

Eames House – telephone: 845 679-2256

20 Comeau Drive, PO Box 841, Woodstock, NY 12498

Founded in 1929 by a group of artists, writers, academics, and local citizens, the Historical Society of Woodstock is committed to shaping our future through a shared understanding of our past. In addition to the exhibition space, which is located at the historic Eames House in the center of Woodstock, the Historical Society has an extensive archive consisting of paintings, as well as prints, drawings, and sculpture, textiles, photographs, books and manuscripts, correspondence/documents, film/sound recordings, and antique tools. The archive serves as a resource for a wide range of exhibitions and public programming. In recent years, the Historical Society has organized a number of outstanding exhibitions on the Byrdcliffe and Maverick art colonies – as well as other local themes. Exhibitions and programs are presented during the summer and fall. The Historical Society of Woodstock recently received a grant from the NYS Council on the Arts to begin the process of upgrading storage for the collection.

"Wisteria at Alf's House", circa 1950
“Wisteria at Alf’s House”, circa 1950
"Overlook Mountain", 1914
“Overlook Mountain”, 1914
"Portrait of Hervey White", 1910
“Portrait of Hervey White”, 1910

Fall – Winter 2012 Exhibitions/Events:

Holiday Card by Maud and Miska Petersham circa 1932 (silk screen print)
Holiday Card by Maud and Miska Petersham circa 1932 (silk screen print)

Exhibition of vintage holiday cards

… a tribute to Maud and Miska Petersham

Opening: Exhibit and Holiday Sale

Friday, December 7, 4-8:00 pm

… featuring note cards with paintings from the Historical Society collection (see above), tins of home-made cookies, the “Historical Society Cookie Cookbook”, hand-made mittens, books and DVDs on local history, vintage postcards, and more.

Please join us for home-made cookies and hot cider!

"Wisteria at Alf's House", circa 1950
"Overlook Mountain", 1914
"Portrait of Hervey White", 1910
"Portrait of Hervey White", 1910

“Under the North Light”, presentation and book signing

Miki and Mary: Their Search for Treasures
Illustration from “Miki and Mary: Their Search for Treasures”, a book written and illustrated by Maud and Miska Petersham for Viking in 1934.

Maud and Miska Petersham at their Woodstock home in the early 1950s. Petersham Reinhard Collection

This event will be rescheduled

Woodstock native Larence Webster is the author of “Under the North Light”, the first book about children’s book authors and illustrators Maud and Miska Petersham.

The book has received much positive attention from historians and collectors of children’s literature. For this talk Lawrence will focus Maud and Miska’s lives in Woodstock and their contributions to the creative, social, and cultural life of the town we find so engaging.

“Winter Tales: Stories and Family Art Workshop”

Sunday, December 16, 1-3:00 pm

Storyteller Jill Olesker will tell winter tales based on the books from Maud and Miska Petersham. Then, inspired by these stories and the exhibit of Woodstock artists’ holiday cards, you are invited join WAAM arts educator Beth Humphrey to create your own memorable cards.

Woodstock History: Thanksgiving Morning Walk – Thursday, November 22, 9:30 a.m.

Woodstock History

The Historical Society of Woodstock will offer a Thanksgiving morning history walk about the village this Thursday beginning at 9:30 a.m. The walk will begin at the corner of Maple Lane and Deanies Alley by the fleamarket. Janine Mower will offer insights into the evolution of our town and discuss some of the tales and people that make-up our story.

The walk is in support of the Historical Society’s building fund and enhancement of its archival storage facilities.

A suggested donation of $10 is requested.

**Annual Membership Meeting: Sunday, October 14, 2012, 3:00 pm, Eames House

Members of the Historical Society re-elected (left to right) Richard Heppner, Deborah Heppner, Kathy Anderson to the Board of Trustees.

Comeau Day: Saturday, September 29, 11-4:00 p.m.

"Wisteria at Alf's House", circa 1950
"Overlook Mountain", 1914
"Portrait of Hervey White", 1910
photos by Alan Carey 2012
"Portrait of Hervey White", 1910

Spring – Summer 2012 Exhibitions/Events:

Holiday Open House
Photo courtesy of John Elwyn.

Exhibition: After the War was Over June 29 – August 26, 2012

Saturdays and Sundays, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.

This exhibition explores the emergence of Woodstock from a small town into a thriving, growing community. As men and women returned from war, Woodstock experienced soaring population, increased property values, increased tourism, and the revival of the art colony as new artists settled into the community. (more below)

(left) The original Deanie’s… the trolley that Deanie Elwyn purchased for $700 in 1934, eventually buried between Wok & Roll & Not Fade Away, formerly Joyous Lake.

John Pike cover for Colliers Magazine, 1951

Local musicians at a party in Woodstock after the war.

(photo courtesy of Deborah Heppner)

Woodstock Elementary School
Woodstock Elementary School rises in the shadow of Overlook.

After the War was Over – Post WW II Woodstock and the building of a community.

Fundamentally altered by their experiences, the men and women who returned to Woodstock at the end of World War II found a town that had also changed during their absence. Like them, Woodstock had been shaped, it’s path redirected, by the war as well. Fading were the differences and past antagonisms between “old” and “new” Woodstockers.

Woodstock was a town eager to move on; eager to explore a new-found sense of community resulting from the shared experiences of the Great Depression and a World War. Growth was on the horizon, in spirit, size and in Woodstock’s own sense of who we were.

It was both an exciting and challenging era for Woodstock and the Historical Society of Woodstock has captured those times in it’s 2012 summer exhibit: After the War was Over: Post WW II Woodstock and the Building of a Community. Through photographs, art work, newspapers, documents, and other ephemera and artifacts, the Historical Society has pieced together a number of the elements that shaped and moved Woodstock during the post-World War II years.

This exhibition will explore the emergence of Woodstock from a small town into a thriving, growing community. As men and women returned from the war, Woodstock experienced soaring population, increased property values, increased tourism, and the revival of the art colony as new artists settled into this community. With the arrival of Rotron, IBM and other new modern businesses, came the development of such institutions as banks, a supermarket, a new elementary school, new churches, restaurants, bars, and shops, as post World War II Woodstock began to take shape. There was an increase in the number of out-of-towners who came to Woodstock, especially on summer weekends. As the Woodstock “Weekly Window” commented in 1948, many of these people (labelled “trudgers”) “trudged purposefully about the village in search of something or other, which they never seem to find”.
Though the sting of Holley Cantine's "The Wasp" indicates that not everyone is happy with the future direction of Woodstock.
Though the sting of Holley Cantine’s “The Wasp” indicates that not everyone is happy with the future direction of Woodstock.
"Overlook Mountain", 1914
"Table at Deanie's" with original menus, china, postcards.
“Table at Deanie’s” with original menus, china, postcards.
HSW Exhibition installation.
The Architectural History & Guide

“The Architectural History & Guide”, May 19, 2:00 pm

On Saturday, May 19th at 2 p.m. William B. Rhoads will be giving a talk and reading selections from his book Ulster County, New York, The Architectural History & Guide. This book is a guide to 325 sites in all 20 Ulster County townships and the city of Kingston. The profusely illustrated 376-page guide captures the variety and changing architectural styles that have appeared over nearly 300 years in the Hudson River Valley and Catskill Mountains, from the 17th century Dutch limestone houses of the colonial era, through the Federal and Victorian periods, up to the Modernist architecture of the mid-1950s. This free event is part of the New York State Heritage Weekend Promotion and will take place at the Historical Society of Woodstock/Eames House, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY.

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“Spoken Words of War and Remembrance”
JoAnn Margolis, HSW Archivist.
JoAnn Margolis, HSW Archivist.
Students viewing the installation of their work.
Students viewing the installation of their work.

“Woodstock Roads: A History – What’s In A Name?”, May 19-20, 2-4 pm

That’s exactly what the two fifth grade classes at Woodstock Elementary School set out to discover. Jill Olesker, storyteller and oral historian, and JoAnn Margolis, Historical Society of Woodstock archivist, created this project. They collaborated with Kenneth Behling, Woodstock Elementary School librarian, to help students explore the history of their town. Art teacher Roberta Ziemba worked with her classes to create paintings inspired by the roads they researched, which will be used as road signs at the exhibit.

Students researched information on local roads using books, photos, documents from the Historical Society archives, and talks with local historians. They created Wiki sites and annotated Google maps with assistance from Mr. Behling.

The students’ work, together with relevant pieces from the Historical Society’s archives, will be exhibited from 2-4 pm on Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20 at the Historical Society’s Museum, 20 Comeau Drive (just above the municipal parking lot) in Woodstock. In celebration of the project, students will give a presentation of their work on Sunday from 2-4 pm.

Come and satisfy your curiosity about the roads we pass every day and support the work of young historians.