Lebanon Valley Historical Society News

Programs
• March 21 – Jennifer Allard, New Lebanon Central School Social Studies teacher, will talk about Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt’s relationship to the Valley. She will include insights from her own research into the subject. Time: 7 pm; location: Friendship Hall, Church of Our Saviour.
• April 11 – Steve Oberon will present an overview of Valley cemeteries. Weather permitting, there will be a walkabout for interested members. Time: 7 pm; location: Friendship Hall.
• May 16 – Crist Byler, of the Canaan Hardware Store, will discuss the history of the Mennonites in Lebanon Valley. Time: 7 pm; location: Friendship Hall.
• June 20 – Continuing what is becoming a tradition, the Annual Picnic will feature an update on the Shaker Swamp project, presented by Ted Timreck and Karen Ross. Time: 6:30 pm; location: Shaker Meadows.
Projects
• The Archives Project – In 2010, the Society received a grant of $3,490 from the NYS Documentary Heritage Program for Phase 1 of a project to document the demise of the Tilden Company in New Lebanon. LVHS was one of only eight organizations awarded funding. From 1824 into the 1960s, Tilden & Company, the oldest pharmaceutical company in the U.S., was a major commercial feature of New Lebanon. The purchase and eventual closing of the Company had a significant impact on New Lebanon, which was not well documented at the time. The Tilden Project seeks to discover and document the impact of this de-industrialization on the economy, landscape and citizens of the Town. The project has additional significance for the LVHS Archives, because a professional archivist will be employed to teach us how to properly acquire and store the pertinent artifacts for the project. These skills can be extended to the rest of the collection. The DHP grant requires a 10% match from the Society, which will partially be met with in-kind labor donations. You can help, too. Money is needed to purchase materials such as acid-free folders and boxes. If you’d like to donate, contact Jeannine Tonetti at 518-794-9177.
• Lebanon Springs Union Free School – In October 2009, the LVHS Board established a committee to preserve the UFS, which the New Lebanon School District wanted to demolish. The committee persuaded the Board of Education to allow time to develop funding and a use for the building and has pursued a number of large grants. The committee estimates that $257,313 will be needed to stabilize the back wall and the chimneys, with approximately $43,000 needed to start work. Competition for such funds is intense and awards have eluded the committee to date. The School Board recently extended its moratorium on demolition into the spring of 2011 and the committee is working hard on new grant applications. The LVHS Board approved a challenge match for this project in September 2010: all individual donations will be matched from LVHS funds at 100% up to $5000. If you would like to donate money or volunteer to work on the LSUFS Project, contact Chris Dreyfus at 518-794-9014.