2020 Events
Saint Nicholas Day Box & Photo Op
When: Saturday, December 5 & Sunday, December 6; pickup times: 10:00 am, 10:45 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:15 pm, and 2:00 pm*
Where: Jacob Blauvelt House, 20 Zukor Road, New City
Price: $10 per box (we recommend one box per child)
This year may look different, but at the Historical Society of Rockland County we’re striving to keep the holiday tradition alive with our 59th annual Saint Nicholas Day program. We’re offering our experience this year as a combination of curbside pickup and online storytelling, with an in-person photo option following CDC safety guidelines to keep everyone healthy! Each Saint Nicholas Box contains our traditional printed program highlighting this Dutch tradition. You will also receive individually packaged refreshments, recipes, special treats with instructions for filling children’s shoes, and a unique link to view our magical storytelling done virtually from the Jacob Blauvelt House. When you come at your reserved time to pick up your box, you’ll have the chance to visit with Saint Nicholas and his horse for a photo op (no contact please). Mask are required, and social distancing must be observed. St. Nicholas Day is a highlight of the holiday season. Many adults who enjoyed this event in the past, as children, now celebrate with their own families. Why not begin your own tradition and join us?
Film Screening: The Tappan Zee Bridge: Transforming Rockland County
When: Monday, December 14, 2020, 7:00 pm SHARP
Where: ZOOM – Online (Zoom link provided with your confirmed reservation)
Price: $FREE (but reservations are required)
Built during a time of great optimism in America, the Tappan Zee Bridge led Rockland County into the era of the automobile. Along with the New York State Thruway, the bridge enabled Rockland County to modernize its roads and support a highway system that would tie it to the rest of the country. Cutting-edge building techniques anchored the Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson and connected two shores where only ferries had once made the crossing. Come along on this ride of progress and discover the remarkable story of the cantilever bridge that transformed Rockland County. We'll screen the 30-minute film produced, directed, and edited by Brian Crowder and Annmarie Lanesey, followed by a Q&A with Winston Perry, who witnessed firsthand the impact this transformation had on the Village of Nyack.
Lecture: Dutch Holiday Traditions: A History of the Season in the Hudson Valley
When: Wednesday, December 9, 2020, 3:00 PM, and Thursday, December 10, 2020, 7:00 PM
Where: ZOOM – Online (Zoom link provided with your confirmed reservation)
Admission: $FREE (reservations are required and donations are appreciated
In this virtual program HSRC Education Coordinator Jennifer Brooks traces the line between the traditions of early Dutch settlers in Rockland County and surrounding areas to the growth of our modern American Christmas traditions. Step back in time with us and explore the history behind our holiday traditions. Where did they come from? Who is Saint Nicholas, and how did he become Santa Claus? Why is the December season known for gift-giving and charity? What’s with the tree and the chimney? And what does any of this have to do with religion? We’ll cover this fascinating history and share some Dutch recipes and festive crafts to bring Rockland’s Dutch heritage to your home for the holidays.
Suffrage Lecture: Lifting as They Climbed: Women of Color and the Fight for Suffrage in New York State
When: Wednesday, October 21, 2020, 3:00 PM, and Thursday, October 22, 2020, 7:00 PM
Where: ZOOM – Online (Zoom link provided with your confirmed reservation)
Admission: $FREE (reservations are required)
African American and Native American women played an integral role in the fight for women's suffrage in New York State, from the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 that launched the Suffrage Movement through ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. In this presentation, HSRC Executive Director Susan Deeks explores connections among various movements that brought women together during in the 18th and 19th centuries, and that ultimately split them apart along racial lines. How this played out in the Hudson Valley provides glimpses of promising areas for future research into the history of Rockland County.
2020 Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of the Historical Society of Rockland County was held on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, 6:30 PM, at the HSRC's History Center, 20 Zukor Road, New City, New York. The meeting was held outdoors, with socially distanced seating (minimum of 6-7 feet). Masks/facial coverings are required. The order of business included reports of the committees and elections of Trustees.
The Nominating Committee offered the names of the following Historical Society members:
Trustees nominated for a three-year term (Term 2023):
- Anthony Benedict, Airmont
- Veronica DeMeo Boesch, Airmont
- Daniel Garcia, Congers
- Joseph Holland Jr., Airmont
- Philip C. Roventini, New City
Trustees continuing in office
Term 2021
- Andrew Glikin-Gusinsky, Suffern
- Dustin Hausner, New City
- Hon. Alfred Weiner, Wesley Hills
- Joseph Modaferri, Nanuet
- Jennifer Rothschild, South Nyack
Term 2022
- Stephen Beckerle, Stony Point
- Thom Kleiner, Sparkill
- Jennifer Lorenzo, Stony Point
- Asha Paulose, Nyack
- Richard Sena, Bardonia
Our thanks to Richard Anderson of Congers, Jeff Weinberger of New City, and Gordon Wren of Wesley Hills for their Board service!
Suffrage Lecture: "Inside Out: Women, Fashion & The Fight for Suffrage"
When: Wednesday, September 16, 2020, 3:00 PM and Thursday, September 17, 2020, 7:00 PM
Where: ZOOM – Online (Zoom link provided with your confirmed reservation)
Admission: $FREE or $10 (It's your choice. But we sure would appreciate your additional support during these difficult COVID-19 days!)
What may have been the most significant evolution in American womens fashion happened alongside the ratification of the 19th Amendment as the New Woman proudly took her place in American society, dressed to the nines. Join HSRC Education Coordinator Jennifer Brooks for a guided gallery talk exploring our Suffrage Centennial exhibition "Inside Out: Women, Fashion & The Fight for the Vote." Jennifer will highlight the collections items -- from women's gowns and walking suits to fashion and lifestyle accessories -- she and co-curator Christine Kowalski chose to tell the story of how the fight for women's suffrage changed fashion, and how women's fashion and lives changed in response to suffrage
Suffrage Lecture: Women’s Suffrage in Rockland County (Reprise)
When: Wednesday, August 19, 2020, 3:00 PM and Thursday, August 20, 2020, 7:00 PM
Where: ZOOM – Online (Zoom link provided with your confirmed reservation)
Admission: $FREE or $10 (It's your choice. But we sure would appreciate your additional support during these difficult COVID-19 days!)
New York State was key to the national movement for women’s suffrage.Learn about some of the people here in Rockland County who were leaders in the Women’s Suffrage movement from 1848 until 1917, when suffrage was legalized in New York. The victory was a critical tipping point on the road to a constitutional amendment which was passed in 1920 with the 19th Amendment.
Hike through History: Northwest Airlines Flight 6231
When: Saturday, August 15, 2020, 9 am (rain date, August 22)
Where: Provided to confirmed registrants
Price: $25/person (includes guided hike and your choice of a high-quality book about Rockland County history)
Northwest Airlines Flight 6231 crashed in Harriman State Park on December 1, 1974, just minutes after taking off from Kennedy Airport, on its way to Buffalo. The HSRC invites you to hike with us to the 1974 commercial plane crash site and memorial.
The hike is approximately two miles (one mile in and one mile out). It is rated as moderately difficult and crosses gently rolling terrain. Sturdy footwear is recommended due to some rocky areas.
Suffrage Lecture: Women’s Suffrage in Rockland County
When: Thursday, July 16, 2020; 7:00 SHARP
Where: ZOOM – Online (Zoom link provided with your confirmed reservation)
Admission: $FREE (reservations are required)
New York State was key to the national movement for women’s suffrage.Learn about some of the people here in Rockland County who were leaders in the Women’s Suffrage movement from 1848 until 1917, when suffrage was legalized in New York. The victory was a critical tipping point on the road to a constitutional amendment which was passed in 1920 with the 19th Amendment.
Black History Month: Just Call Me Lucky: The Life of Hezekiah Easter
When: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 1-3 pm
Where: HSRC History Center, 20 Zukor Road, New City
Price: $FREE (books will be available for purchase)
Meet the author of Just Call Me Lucky, a newly published, and overdue, biography of Hezekiah Easter, the first African American elected to public office in Rockland County. In 1965, he won a seat on the Village of Nyack Board of Trustees, then went on to serve as a County Legislator for more than twenty years. The book, written in the first-person "as told to" style by Elizabeth Vallone of New City, provides a deep look at the fascinating life of a man who achieved a tremendous amount in a period when being Black put him at a disadvatage in US society, which was still evolving, too slowly, from its dark past of slavery. Ms. Vallone collected the material for the book during a long series of personal interviews with Mr. Easter. Born in the Deep South, he moved with his family to Rockland and spent his adolescence in Nyack before serving overseas in World War II. A man of many talents, most kept private, he built a successful life by being himself all the way through, with no fear or shame. He talks about his service as a "spy" in the US Army; his musical and language abilities; and, most of all, his political skills. A tireless civil rights advocate, his accomplishments inspired other African Americans in the county to enter local politics.
Local History Meeting-Up "Greetings from Nyack" at the Historical Society of the Nyacks
When: Saturday, February 22, 2020, 1-2 pm
Where: Historical Society of the Nyacks Museum, Depew House, 50 Piermont Avenue, Nyack
Price: $FREE (but donations are gratefully accepted)
Enjoy a nostalgic view of Nyack as seen in a selection of postcards and trade cards dating back as far as the 1870s. "Greetings from Nyack" features vintage postcard images and trade cards donated to the Historical Society of the Nyacks by the former local resident and Society benefactor Robert Courtwright. Some show streetscapes of Nyack’s downtown; others have a maritime or business focus. Many depict Nyack in a whimsical way or feature places that are now but a distant memory. "Greetings from Nyack," opened in December 2019 and runs until February 29, 2020. Admission is free; donations are accepted. The Historical Society of the Nyacks Museum is located in the lower level of the Depew House, 50 Piermont Avenue (directly east of the Nyack Library). The entrance to the museum is located under the front porch on the Piermont Avenue side of the building.
Artists/Intellectuals of South Mountain Road: A Panel Discussion
When: Saturday, February 8, 1:00 pm
Where: Rockland Center for the Arts, 27 South Greenbush Road, West Nyack
Price: $FREE (but reservations are strongly suggested and can be made by calling ROCA at 845-358-0877)
In the early twentieth century, a group of prominent artists, designers, and writers became attracted to the environs of South Mountain Road. Many were introduced to the area by John and Mary Mowbray-Clarke, artists and political activists who lived there since 1907 at the home they dubbed The Brocken. Eventually, a growing assemblage of artists followed the Mowbray-Clarkes in purchasing property on South Mountain Road—many largely due to the relationships forged at Mary’s Manhattan bookshop, The Sunwise Turn. Among the first to relocate included were the sculptor Hugo Robus; the ceramacist and painter Henry Varnum Poor; the actor Rollo Peters and his longtime companion, the poet Amy Murray; the playwright Maxwell Anderson; and the writer Frank Ernest Hill. Over the next three decades they would be followed by luminaries such as the photographer Marjorie Content and her husband, the writer Harold Loeb; the sculptor and painter Carroll French; the textile artist Ruth Reeves; the painters Morris Kantor and Martha Ryther; the cartoonists Milton Caniff and Bill Mauldin; the lyricist Alan Jay Lerner; and the actors John Houseman and Burgess Meredith. Some were emigres and refugees from the political turmoil and persecutions in Europe—notably, the composer Kurt Weill and his wife, the actress Lotte Lenya. This panel discussion, moderated by Clare Sheridan and comprising Richard Connolly, Justin Duerr, Jonathan O'Hea, Leontine Temsky, and Mark Waller, will explore the impact these artists and intellectuals had on one another, the community of Rockland, and the larger world. This panel discussion is part of the 2019-2020 "Influencers" program, a partnership of the Rockland Center for the Arts and Historical Society of Rockland County celebrating Rockland County's artistic heritage and legacy.
Bus Daytrip: New-York Historical Society
When: February 1, 2020
Where: Leaves the Historical Society at 9:00 am and returns at 4:30 pm
Price: HSRC Members, $119 per person; non-members, $129 per person (includes bus transportation, docent guided tour, a delicious luncheon, tips and an all museum pass)
Leave the driving (and parking) to us! Join us as we visit the New-York Historical Society. A 60 minute docent-guided tour of "Mark Twain and the Holy Land" will kick off our day at the N-YHS. Using original documents, photographs, artwork, and costumes, as well as an interactive media experience, the exhibition commemorates the 150th anniversary of one of the best-selling travelogues of all time as it illuminates Twain’s fabled journey and explores his and other Americans’ perceptions of the Holy Land in the postbellum era. Then we will dine, as a group, at the famed Storico restaurant on a delicious luncheon.After lunch, guests will have a museum pass to visit the rest of the museum. Explore the permanent collection or visit one of the other special exhibitions: "In Profile: A Look at Silhouettes," which traces the development of this popular art form — at first, black profile cut paper or painted images — that emerged as a popular form of portraiture in nineteenth-century America, when there were few trained portrait painters; or "Life Cut Short: Hamilton’s Hair and the Art of Mourning Jewelry," which examines the history of hair jewelry through a display of approximately thirty bracelets, earrings, brooches, and other accessories from the N-YHS collection. A highlight of the installation is a gold mourning ring containing a lock of Founder Alexander Hamilton’s hair clipped by his wife.
