Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper
by Kieron Kramer
In response to R.J. Valente’s application to New York State for a modification of the Mined Land Use Plan for its mine in Grafton, the Grafton Planning Board voted unanimously, in a roll call vote, to pass a resolution declaring itself the lead agency in the NYS environmental review process (SEQR) and demanding that a site plan review application be submitted to the Board immediately. [Read more…] about Grafton Planning Board Responds To R.J. Valente’s Change Of Use Plan
by Bea Peterson
“That pool has taught thousands of kids to swim over the years,” said Hoosick Town Supervisor Mark Surdam at the Special Board Meeting held on Thursday, January 24. More than 20 people attended the meeting, including Hoosick Falls Mayor David Borge, Deputy Mayor Ric DiDonato, former Town Supervisor Keith Cipperly and former Town Councilman Kevin Allard. As Court was in session upstairs, the meeting was held downstairs in the Armory.
[Read more…] about Hoosick Special Meeting On Town Pool Repairs
by Liz Wagner, Park Naturalist
Sixteen hundred people cured their cabin fever by braving the weather for a day in the outdoors last Saturday at Grafton Lakes State Park.
Fishing Contest [Read more…] about Winter Fest Brings People Out Of Hibernation
submitted by Chief Robert Ashe
On January 14 the Hoosick Falls Police arrested Kyle Winters, age 22, who used to live in Hoosick Falls but is now reporting that he is homeless.
by Bea Peterson
On Saturday, January 25, a group of volunteers gathered at the Armory to get the Hoosick Barn Quilt Project underway. Those volunteers included Linda Redden, Carol Gatus, Kathy Andritz, Ric, Alex and Suzanne DiDonato, Carol Gaillard, Jane Verdarosa, Joe and Faye MacDonald, Dave Kipp, Brian Bushner and HAYC3 staff members Aaron Buzzinski, Chris Mead and Patti Zilinskas.
by Bea Peterson
At the first Hoosick Planning Board meeting of the year, Chairman Jim Dunigan asked for approval to appoint Karen Jennings as secretary and Denis King as Planning Board attorney. [Read more…] about Hoosick Planning Board Action – January 2014
submitted by Deb Alter
Early Friday morning, January 24, there was a devastating fire on Center Street. Thankfully all the people were able to get out safely, but the two families who lived there have lost everything. Everything.
One of the families has two boys in elementary school. They have a place to stay but they need Hoosick’s help, and help is what we do best. It’s what makes us such a great community.
[Read more…] about Hoosick Community Rallies To Support Center Street Families Devastated By Fire
submitted by Kevin O’Malley
The Hoosick Falls St. Patrick’s Committee will hold a fundraiser on Saturday, February 1, at 1 pm at the Sand Bar in Hoosick Falls. Join us for a fun afternoon of Irish road bowling, the Irish drink contest, the Irish Stew Cook-Off, raffles, potato bar, music and lots of blarney.
Our big money raffle is still underway and will be drawn with $250, $150 and $50 prizes.
To enter the Irish stew Cook-Off contact Marie O’Neil at 686-4828.
The Hoosick Falls St. Patrick’s Parade will be held on Saturday, March 15, at 1 pm.
submitted by Bernard Davock
Hoosick Falls Boy Scout Troop 63 camped out at the Pioneer Fish and Game Club this past weekend. In addition to practicing survival skills like fire building and what to do if you fall through some ice into water while hiking in the woods, the boys enjoyed a impromptu class by Ed Sukuskas about the habitat of wood ducks.
submitted by Jeannine Tonetti
The Tilden Project, finding the records of the first pharmaceutical company in the United States, has been funded for three consecutive years for all three phases. The purpose of the project is to discover, survey and document the Tilden Pharmaceutical Company and its impact on the economic, social and cultural life of New Lebanon, particularly when it went out of business in the middle of the 20th century.
The Tilden & Company pharmaceutical firm was established in New Lebanon by Elam Tilden in 1824. Elam was the father of Samuel Jones Tilden, the former governor of New York and candidate for U.S. President, who is buried in New Lebanon.
The Lebanon Valley has a rich heritage of healing, from the Native American use of the waters of the Lebanon Spring through the growing and selling of herbs by the Shakers. Tilden built on these heritages and developed his company to grow, process and sell herbal pharmaceuticals. At first, most of the herbs were grown in the fertile soils of the valley and surrounding towns. Later in the 19th and then the 20th century, many herbs and pharmaceutical ingredients were imported. The Tilden Company was widely known and respected for the consistency and efficacy of its medicinals. The Company published a Journal of Materia Medica which attempted to scientifically review and evaluate pharmaceuticals. Then, in the 20th century, medicines began to be created out of chemicals.
This enabled large pharmaceutical companies to develop. The Tilden Company began to decline, and it closed in 1963, after being absorbed into a series of these larger corporations.
The Tilden Company employed many local men and women, was a significant contributor to town economics, had an impact on the land use and played a major role in the social life of New Lebanon. The company’s impact on the town and the effect of its demise is the focus of the research of the Tilden Project.
The Project researcher, Steve Oberon and LVHS volunteers, have been interviewing people with connections to the company and collecting information from private and public records. This research is continuing. Documents and artifacts have been donated to the LVHS collections. All the documents will be archivally stored and available to the public for research at the LVHS offices in the New Lebanon Town Hall. The archives will be available on line when the LVHS computer catalogue is completed. Phase 3 has been funded to pay for the archivist, Jim Corsaro, to gather the collected information and create an archival record which will be posted on the NYS Archive website. The information will then be accessible for public research.
Any comments or information helpful to this project can be sent to Jeannine Tonetti, Tilden Project Director, info@lebanonvalleyhistorical society.org or LVHS, Box 363, New Lebanon, NY, 12125.
