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Summer 2019

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SUMMER 2019 VOLUME 34 NUMBER 2A M A G A Z I N E F O R K A A T S K I L L L I V I N GA M A G A Z I N E F O R K A A T S K I L L L I V I N GSUMMER 2019 VOLUME 34 NUMBER 2©

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D E PA R T M E N T S2 AREA MAP4 360 DEGREES18 KAATSKILLGEOLOGIST A TRIP ACROSS THE RIVER by Robert and Johanna Titus26 KAATSKILL FOREST HISTORIAN WEST KILL MOUNTAIN: GREENE COUNTY’S LARGEST FIRST GROWTH TRACT Including Early Settlements and Historic Industries by Michael Kudish48 KAATSKILL DINNING/LODGINGS THE ARNOLD HOUSE FIRST IN THE FOSTER SUPPLY HOSPITALITY FAMILY by Rebecca Andre70 KAATSKILLGEOLOGIST STANDING STONES OF THE EASTERN CATSKILLS (AND STEEPLY INCLINED ONES TOO) by Robert and Johanna Titus78 KAATSKILL TREES PIN OAK PERFECT OR PLANTING by Ryan Trapani, Director of Forest Services, CFATOCOSUMMER 2019 VOLUME 34 NUMBER 2 $4.95F E A T U R E S36WESTKILL MOUNTAINIMAGESby Steve Aron57TRI-COUNTY BEAUTY PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT10BIOPHILIA: WHAT CANGREEN DO FOR YOU?by Lawrence C. Swayne, MD82CARRIAGE HOUSE CAFÉby Russ Patton, Jr.58BOB WYER,PHOTOGRAPHERGlimpses Into Life, The Rare,The Beautiful & The Ordinary

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CONSULTANT:Nina A.M. Lawford-JuvilerPUBLISHER AND EDITOR: Donald F.Bishop, IIFAX #: 607-746-3135CONTRIBUTORS: Peter Senterman, Robert Titus, Johanna Titus, Michael Kudish,Justin Askins, John Rowen, Ryan Trapani,Larry Gambon, Lawrence C. Swayne,Lillian Browne, Rebecca Andre, LaVerneBlack, Francis X. Driscoll ART DIRECTOR/LAYOUT:John Stys and Cathy RolosonPHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR:Donald F. Bishop, IICOPY EDITOR:Bertha K. RogersCALENDAR OF EVENTS & WEB MASTER:Cathy RolosonFAX #: 607-746-3135SUBSCRIPTIONS: Cathy RolosonBOOKKEEPER: Sherri TelianPUBLISHER: The Delaware County Times, Inc.web site: www.kaatslife.com e-mail: info@kaatslife.comDigital Subscriptions $20. To get yourKaatskill Life digital subscription: Visitwww.kaatslife.com and click on button for sub-scriptions. You can pay with PayPal or you cansend a check or money order to: Kaatskill Life,56 Main Street, Delhi, NY 13753Please be sure to include your name, address,phone number and email so we can processyour order.Back issues of Kaatskill Life available at$10 each ppd. Write your name and fullstreet address or call 607-746-2176.Allow 6-8 weeks for processing.Kaatskill Life, established in 1986, is pub-lished four times yearly by The DelawareCounty Times, Inc., Delhi, NY. Editorial andsales office located at 56 Main Street, Delhi,NY 13753; phone 607-746-2176, FAX607-746-3135. Copyright 2019 by TheDelaware County Times, Inc. All rightsreserved. No part of this publication may bereprinted or reproduced without the writtenpermission of the publisher. Kaatskill Life can-not be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts,drawings, photographs or transparencies.PLEASE ALLOW 2 TO 8 WEEKS for responsesto submitted material. ISSN 1073-9076.front cover: Francis X. Driscollinside front cover: Larry Gamboninside back cover: Larry Gambonback cover: Jessica Heller➺NDELAWARERIVERSULLIVANULSTEROTSEGOI-88GREENE1797172091452810102828233030422323Rt. 209W21323-AHUDSONRIVER2Kaatskill Life reserves the right to accept or rejectall submissions, advertising or editorial, and toedit manuscripts for length, clarity and style. Weaccept original manuscripts double-spaced andclean-typed without corrections or insertions.FAXES AND COLUMN FORMATS NOT ACCEPTED.DELAWARENY STATE THRUWAY (87)23I-8810SCHOHARIELocations are approximate.149206• BIOPHILIA• CARRIAGE HOUSE CAFE • WESTKILL MOUNTAIN: GREENE COUNTY’S LARGEST FIRST GROWTH TRACT• A TRIP ACROSS THE RIVER• STANDING STONES, OF THE EASTERN CATSKILLS (AND STEEPLY INCLINED ONES TOO) • BOB WYER, PHOTOGRAPHER GLIMPSES INTO LIFE, THE RARE, THE BEAUTIFUL & THE ORDINARY• THE ARNOLD HOUSE FIRST IN THE FOSTER SUPPLY HOSPITALITY FAMILY• PIN OAK21497Lawrence C. Swayne, MD

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360 DegreesDelaware County43rd Annual DEPOSIT LUMBERJACK FESTIVALJuly 19, 20, & 21The Deposit LumberjackFestival is a three day event withlots of fun, excitement, lumber-jack competitions, carnivalrides, food vendors, HOPSAWSATURDAY, street fair, parade,live music, tractor pulls, ponypulls, fireworks, and many otherevents.The Deposit Lumberjack FestivalInc. is a non-profit organization foundedin 1976 to help support the local not-for-profit organizations and businesses of Deposit, NY With the support and sponsorship of our community andlocal businesses we are able to hold an annual 3 day festival,which is always the 3rd weekend in July.Teddy Bear Flyer at the Delaware & Ulster RailroadJULY 13 and 14, children ride free when they bring alongtheir favorite Teddy Bear and accompanied by an Adult orSenior passenger. Regular Fares Apply. (845) 586-2929 formore information. Delaware & Ulster Railroad, 43510 NY-28, Arkville day-of festival pricing! Quantities are limited on certaincommemorative glassware varieties, so buy inadvance to guarantee your first choice!While visiting, be sure to consider ticketson Windha m’s s cenic skyride, f orunparalleled views from the sum-mit! 5 1 8 - 7 3 4 - 4 3 0 0 Wi n d h a mMounta i n 19 Re s o rt D r . ,Windha m , www.wi n d h a m -mountain.com/event/keg-rat-tle-roll-in-the-catskills/Coxsackie RiversideFestival August 3rd 11AM - 10PM onth e Hud son R ive r downtownCoxsackie. Live music this year fea-turing - Wide Awake; 90 Proof; Mikeand the Imperials and our closing band isWilder- 518! Come enjoy the sounds of thesegreat bands, bring a lawn chair and sit back andenjoy the music or dance the day into the night!Many craft, novelty and food vendors! Entertainmentthrough out the festival Mr. Twisty, Johnny Peers & theMuttville Comix, Jim Snack the Magician and the HudsonValley Ghost Busters!Old school carnival rides with cotton candy and caramelapples!Something for everyone! No entry fee. Adult beveragesavailable with proper ID.Boat launch parking will be closed on Friday 8/2, 9 PMand all day Saturday 8/3 (Any vehicles in this parking lotwill be towed by 6:30 PM on Saturday 8/3 if not removed)Soft opening on Friday night with food vendor, operatingcarnival rides and live music from Side Show Willlie from 6PM - 8 PM! Check out our face book page CoxsackieRiverside Festival Betke Blvd. , Coxsackie 518-731-2718Susquehanna Balloon Festival11th Annual Susquehanna Balloon Festival at NEAHWAPARK in Oneonta. Friday, August 30: 5pm-9pm: Livemusic, vendors, entertainment, bounce house and greatfood, with Balloon Launches at 6pm. Saturday, August 31:3pm – 9pm: Live music, vendors, entertainment, bouncehouse, and great food! DUSK (around 8pm): SpectacularHot Air Balloon Glow... A beautiful sight where the bal-loons are tethered and lit from the inside like giant4DELAWARECOUNTYGREENECOUNTYOTSEGOCOUNTYKeg, Rattle & Roll in the CatskillsAugust 3,4. Sample 60+ craft beers & ciders (see the ever-growing list at the bottom of this page), plus a selection ofwines while you enjoy a great lineup of live music, craftvendors, and tasty food truck options in a beautiful out-door setting!Parking and admission to the festival grounds are bothfree. Bring lawn chairs and blankets and find your spaceon the lawn near the NBT Bank Stage for a full line-up offree music! Families with children are encouraged – we’lleven have a special kids soda tasting area! Official Keg,Rattle & Roll glassware and tasting tickets are required forbeer, wine and cider sampling. Purchase your glasswareand tasting tickets in advance to save significantly over

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5Japanese lanterns!! Don’t miss it! For more informationcall Destination Oneonta 607-432-2941. Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley RR Celebrating 150 YearsThe Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley RR Milford NY isCelebrating our Sesquicentennial 150 Years of operation, JULY13 & 14, 2019 Please Join us many things to do for all ages.SATURDAY, JULY 13,9:00am - 4:00pm Milford Park Railway Train Rides (free)9:00am-11:30am Mini Guest Engineer - 1/2 hour runs $50/per person)9:00am-11:00am Special Postal Cancelation by Milford Postmaster Judy Kessler @ Milford Depot10:00am-4:00pm Track Car Rides south of Milford($10.00/per person)10:00am-11:30am Viscose Co. #6 0-4-0 Steam TrainRide w/ Big Hook Demo to Milepost 6 ($30 (adults), $28(seniors), $25 (kids), under 3 free)10:00am-12:00pm Dixieland Band Performs (front ofMilfordDepot)11:00am-2:00pm Food Sales by Milford High School12:00pm-1:00pm Formal Ceremony/Speeches w/ GoldSpike Ceremony (front of Milford Depot)1:00pm-3:00pm Dixieland Band Performs (front ofMilford Depot)1:00pm-4:30pm Viscose Co.#6 0-4-0 Steam PoweredSe s quice n tenn i al Expr e ss Trai n ( $ 30 (adu l ts), $28(seniors), $25 (kids), under 3 free) On board entertainment by All Aboard with Joe & JoAnn1:00pm Milford Church Bells Ring upon departure fromMilford1:30pm Cannon Shoot @ Pop’s when SesquicentennialTrain arrives2:30pm Sesquicentennial Express Arrives in Cooperstown(Glen Avenue) Cooperstown Church Bells ring whenarriving at Glenn Ave4:30pm Sesquicentennial Express arrives back to Milford4:00pm Ice Cream Social begins @ Milford HistoricalSociety, 77 North Main Street, Milford, NY5:00pm Presentation on Railway Postal Service by MilfordPostmaster Judy Kessler, Milford Historical Society (free)6:00pm P r e s e nt a t io n on hi s t o r y of CA C V by LR H SHistorian & Founder Jim Loudon, Milford HistoricalSociety (free)9:00pm Fireworks in Milford Park9:00pm-10:00pm Night Photo Session w/ Viscose Co. 0-4-0 Steam Locomotive @ Milford Depot (free)SUNDAY, JULY 14, 9:00am - 4:00pm Milford Park Railway Train Rides (free)9:00am-11:30am Mini Guest Engineer - 1/2 hour runs$50/per person)10:00am-4:00pm Track Car Rides south of Milford($10.00/per person10:00am-11:30am Viscose Co. #6 0-4-0 Steam Train Ridew/ Jordan Spreader Demo to Milepost 6 ($30 (adults),$28 (seniors), $25 (kids), under 3 free)11:00am-2:00pm Food Sales by Milford High School1:00pm-3:00pm Viscose Co. #6 0-4-0 Steam Train PhotoFreight departing Milford @ 1:00pm to Dreams Park,returning to Milford at 3: 30pm ($30 (adul ts), $28(seniors), $25 (kids), under 3 free)4:00pm Sesquicentennial Events EndThe Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley RR Milford NY isCelebrating our Sesquicentennial 150 Years of operation,JULY 13 & 14, 2019 Please Join us many things to do forall ages.360 Degrees

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360 DegreesJefferson Heritage DaySaturday, July 13. This free event brings folks of allages from all over to enjoy a fun filled day and night inthe quaint village of Jefferson at the Town Green (Rt. 10to Main Street) with the antique Gazebo at its heart. Alsomarked as th e w e e k e n d to sc h e d u l e ma n y fa m i l yreunions, the planners for this year’s Heritage Day areconfident that no one will be disappointed. Heritage Dayis chockfull of performances, live music throughout theday featuring the TLC Country Cloggers, Native AmericanDancers, Patty & the Mygraines, and a feature band thattakes the merriment into the night. Food stands andcrafters, games and events you don’t want to miss.Something for all ages. Love a parade, it starts at 11 am,live entertainment begins at 9:30 am and continuesthroughout the day. This year’s free activities include,petting zoo, Chainsaw Carving, wagon rides around thegreen and more. The Jefferson Fire Department will beoffering free fire truck rides and blood pressure screen-ing. This and much more makes for a free fun day for thewhole family. e-mail: JeffersonHeritageDay@aol.comVisit our Facebook page: Jefferson Heritage Day38th Annual Iroquois Indian FestivalSaturday, August 31 & Sunday, September 1. CelebrateIroquois creativity and self-expression while enjoying aweekend filled with exciting events and activities! Ourannual festival features an Art Market open exclusively toIroquois artists. Both contemporary and traditional artforms are showcased. With this much talent in one place,visitors are assured of finding a treasure to take home.Other weekend highlights include traditional Iroquoissocial dances performed by The Sky Dancers from Six NationsReserve in Ontario. You might even find yourself invited tothe dance floor to participate! Onondaga storyteller PerryGround returns with tales of daring feats and astoundingadventures. Local wildlife rehabilitator Kelly Martin will be inattendance to discuss wildlife conservation in our bioregionand display a variety of wild animals including birds of prey.The Museum’s archeology department will be available tohelp identify archeological finds and give demonstrations offlintknapping and other early technologies. There will be achildren’s area with art & traditional crafts activities, and anopportunity to sample some delectable Native foods from ourHaudenosaunee food vendors!Iroquois Indian Museum 324 Caverns Road, HowesCave, www.iroquoismuseum.orgTown of Bethel Parade, BBQ & Outdoor MovieTown of Bethel as part of their 50th anniversary of the1969 Woodstock Festival celebrations will be hosting aparade, live music and free outdoor movie on July 27,2019. The movie is a FREE event, registration requiredth rou gh Eve ntbrite. Also, the K aun eon ga Lake FireCompany will be hosting a Chicken BBQ.Free shuttle bus starting at 12:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.Feel free to hop on for the parade, movie, bbq, restaurantsor to just stroll and visit the Kauneonga Lake Communitypark overlooking White Lake and take in the beautifulsurroundings. Follow signs for Free shuttle bus parkinglocated at 3398 State Route 55, White Lake, NY 12786. Parade starts at Town Hall into Kauneonga Lake at 1:30p.m. Should last approximately 1 hour.Chicken BBQ starts at 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. or until sold out.Drive/Walk through at Firehouse.BBQ Sponsored by the Kauneonga Lake Fire Company$12.00 per dinner, take-out only. Dinners may be broughtto the Firemen’s Pavilion, 3574 State Route 55, KauneongaLake, NY 12749.Live Music at the Firemen’s Pavilion 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.Vinnie Sticks, Little Sparrow, Keith Newman and Fisherand Kean will be performing. Free Outdoor Movie Starts at 8:30 p.m. and is over at9:30 p.m. Children under 18 must be accompanied by anadult. No reserved seating. No smoking or alcohol. Bring achair or a blanket. Parking is extremey limited. Pleasepark legally and responsibly. Follow signs for free shuttlebus parking.The movie is a FREE event, registration is required.Cost of BBQ is separate. Tickets for BBQ can be purchasedin advance. See contact information in the OrganizerDescription. Movie, music and parade are sponsored bythe To w n o f Bethel. Ra in D a t e for mo v i e - to beannounced.Santana with the Doobie Brothers SupernaturalNow TourExclusive for concert ticket holders, guests will be ableto access the upper campus Friday, August 16 – Sunday,August 18 beginning at 3 p.m. for the day(s) they have apurchased concert ticket for. Pre-show festivities will con-sist of live music, food trucks, craft vendors, adult-artmaking, games, and variety of food and beverage options. On Saturday, the Terrace Stage will offer a fun-filledSCHOHARIECOUNTY6SULLIVANCOUNTY

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360 Degreesfamily day for Museum ticket holders including art-makingand family-friendly musical performances. Additionally,The Museum will offer extended hours all week from 9:00AM – 9:00 PM, with docents on-site to enhance your expe-rience. Advance tickets are strongly encouraged due to thehigh level of interest expected during Anniversary Weekand can be purchased online for a discounted rate.About the Show:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Carlos Santanahas announced he will hit the road with his band acrossNorth America this summer for the Supernatural Nowtour. The three-month, 29-date celebration will commem-orate two of the most important milestones in the iconicguitarist’s career: the 20th anniversary of his ground-breaking, multiple Grammy-winning album Supernaturaland the 50th anniversary of his momentous performanceat Woodstock. Special guests The Doobie Brothers willappear on all dates.Reflecting on the cosmic significance of both anniver-saries occurring in the same year, Santana says, “Both weremo num ent al momen ts i n my l ife . Woo dst ock andSupernatural took me to places I never dreamed were possi-ble. I embraced those incredible moments in my life with allmy heart. Both were supreme lessons in maintaining focus,heart and integrity in every step every day and to strive tobetter oneself with a high standard on and off the stage. Icannot think of these two moments without thinking aboutMr. Bill Graham and Mr. Clive Davis. They are two of manyangels in my life that helped shape my career.”2019 marks the 20th anniversary of Carlos Santana’sgr o u ndbre a k ing al bum Su pern a t ural and the 50thanniversary of his legendary performance at Woodstock.To date, Santana has won 10 Grammy Awards and threeLatin Grammys. He won a record-tying nine Grammys fora single project for 1999’s Supernatural (including Albumof the Year and Record of the Year for “Smooth”) as wellas t h r e e La t i n Gr a m m y s . He h a s al s o re c e i v e d th eBillboard Century Award (1996), was ushered into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame (1998), received the BillboardLatin Music Awards’ Lifetime Achievement honor (2009),and was the recipient of the Kennedy Center HonorsAward (2013). Among many other honors, Carlos Santanahas been cited by Rolling Stone as #15 on their list of the“100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.” In the fall of 2014,Carlos Santana released his memoir The Universal Tone:Bringing My Story to Light. Santana is currently headlin-ing a multi-year residency at House of Blues at MandalayBay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.The Doobie Brothers have been delivering mind-blow-ing, roots-based, harmony-laden, guitar-driven rock androll for over four decades, selling more than 48 millionalbums and winning four Grammy Awards. They releasedtheir latest album, Southbound, in November 2014 onArista Nashville. Southbound features new recordings ofthe band’s biggest hits, with country music’s biggest starsincluding Blake Shelton, Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisleyand Toby Keith. Boasting one of the most loyal fan bases inmusic, the band continues to write and record new mater-ial and tour the world. Their No. 1 singles “Black Water”(1974) and “What a Fool Believes” (1979), both gold, leada catalog of indelible songs that include: “Listen to theMusic,” “China Grove,” “Jesus Is Just All Right,” “Rockin’Down the Highway,” “Long Train Runnin’,” “Take Me InYour Arms,” Takin’ it to the Streets,” “Minute by Minute,”“You Belong to Me,” “The Doctor” and more. In all, theDoobies have tallied up five top 10 singles and 16 top 40hits. Beginning with their multi-million-selling sopho-more collection Toulouse Street (1972), the Doobies have3 multi-platinum, 7 platinum and 14 Gold albums. TheirBest of the Doobies (1976) has sold more than 12 millioncopies – a rare “diamond record.”Each pair of tickets purchased for this historic tour willreceive a download or CD copy of Santana’s forthcomingalbum.Kingston Artist Soapbox DerbyThe Kingston Artist Soapbox Derby, now celebrating23 years, is a parade of non-motorized kinetic sculpturescapable of rolling down lower Broadway in Kingston, NY.It is an event that brings makers, tinkerers, artists, and thecreatively inclined together to show off their wild, wacky,and original creations.Early in the day participants park their creations alongBroadway making final preparations, while thousands ofspectators come to watch each car roll down the hill, one-by-one. Vendors and live performances add to a day of funthat concludes with a wacky and entertaining awards cer-emony near the Visitors Center, where participants receiveprizes and one-of-kind artist designed trophies and spec-tators have the opportunity to get last looks at theirfavorite soapbox cars, lined up post-parade on LowerBroadway in front of the Visitors Center.The Kingston Artist Soapbox Derby is a truly unique familyfriendly event that promotes the arts and draws participantsand spectators alike from far and wide. Beyond the day of theevent, the Derby sponsors workshops for participants whoneed some extra help and encourages local community orga-nizations to join in the fun and build a soapbox car as a team.7ULSTERCOUNTY

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8360 DegreesThe Kingston Artist Soapbox Derby supports the localeconomy by bringing many new and returning faces toKingston.Hooley on the Hudson celebrates all things Irishin KingstonConsidering the richness of the ethnic stew long-sim-mering in America’s not-quite-melting pot, it’s sort of ashame that March is when all the world’s top Celtic musi-cians try to cram as many gigs as possible into a whirlwindtour, and it’s the only time of year that you can wangle aloaf of soda bread for love or money (unless you bake ityourself). Now, is that fair? Why shouldn’t we get to enjoythese pleasurable cultural traditions year-round?Luckily for us in the Hudson Valley, the Ulster Countychapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (UC-AOH) hastaken steps to alleviate that long annual drought whenCeltic culture is thin on the ground. For several years nowit has been presenting an Irish arts festival on the Rondoutwaterfront in Kingston called Hooley on the Hudson, andit’ll be back on Sunday, September 1, free of charge.What the heck is a “hooley” anyway, and how do youtell it from a seis˙n? They’re not unrelated: A seis˙n is ajam for players of Irish traditional music, typically held ina pub. Dancing may be involved, and it goes without say-ing that ale and stout will be consumed. Playing jigs andreels is thirsty work.A hooley, on the other hand, basically means a raucousparty, often held in someone’s home. But it’s hard toimagine an Irish party without live music, whatever thesetting. So there’s a fair bit of crossover between the twotypes of event.Another usage of the term “hooley” back on the OuldSod is to mean a strong wind or gale. So it stands to rea-son that a proper hooley should involve the expulsion ofcopious quantities of pressurized air, preferably from thebellows of a set of uilleann pipes. And the UC-AOH has itsown Pipes and Drums Corps, which will blow audiencesaway twice on Sunday: at 1:15 p.m. on the Feeney Stageand again at 2 p.m. on the Tara Stage.Another way is for Irish folks to stir up a gale is withtheir feet, and Hooley on the Hudson’s entertainment willinclude performances from the Celtic Heels School of IrishDance (feet pictured above) at 2:45 p.m. on the FeeneyPRICESTOPLEASEOWN A BUSINESS ORPLANNING AN EVENT?Let Us Help You Promote It!Whether It’sEEMMBBRROOIIDDEERREEDDOORRPPRRIINNTTEEDDPPEERRSSOONNAALLOORRGGIIFFTT TTOO CCUUSSTTOOMMEERRSS—— We Can Do It For You ——1068 Co. Hwy 2, DeLancey, NY 13752stitchwitch43@gmail.com607-746-7308607-267-8252Put your name in front of everyone with…SHIRTS • SWEATSHIRTS • JACKETS • HATSMAGNETS • ORNAMENTS • CUPS • & MUCH MORE!CALL FOR AFREE QUOTENO MINIMUMQUANTITY

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9360 DegreesStage and at 4:15 p.m. on the Tara Stage, and from SolasAn Lae at 4:45 p.m. on the Feeney Stage and at 6:30 p.m.on the Tara Stage.Then there’s the glorious music. Ranging from strictlytrad to electrified punk/folk, the lineup of bands at thisyear’s Hooley on the Hudson includes Vince Fisher &Tommy Ki ernan, the Quinn B rothers , th e Ru ffians,McGroovin, Mac Cana, Tara O’Grady, the Andy CooneyBand, Hair of the Dog and Searson.The Irish are also renowned for their mastery of thespoken word, so a whole stage is devoted to the grand tra-dition of storytelling. Karen Pillsworth, Danaher andCloud, Lorraine Hartin-Gelardi and Kent Busman will befeatured.Food, drink and vendors will be on hand, along withcultural exhibits and kids’ activities, and the TrolleyMuseum will be open just down the street. The family-friendly event begins at 11:30 a.m. and runs until 9 p.m.in and around T. R. Gallo Park on the Strand. For full per-formance schedules and other details, visit the Hibernians’website at www.ulsteraoh.com.Hooley on the Hudson, Sunday, September 1, 11:30a.m.-9 p.m., free, T. R. Gallo Park, Historic RondoutWaterfront District, Kingston; www.ulsteraoh.com.                                    Lawrence C. Swayne, MD

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10Biophilia:What Can Green Do for You?by Lawrence C. Swayne, MDphotography by the authorUrban areas without green foliage are often stressful, elevating heart rate, blood pressure and anziety.

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“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken,over-civilized people are beginningto find out that going to the moun-tains is going home; that wildness isa necessity.”—John MuirNatural scenery “employs the mindwithout fatigue and yet exercises it;tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; andthus through the influence of the mindover the body, give the effect ofrefreshing rest and reinvigoration tothe whole system.”—Frederick Law Olmsted“Wow. . . . love the décor . . . . It’s so . . . relaxing!” Indeed, the prior win-dowless, charcoal gray office space had undergone a remarkable renovation.Soothing light bathed newly-painted, forest-green walls featuring large flatscreen TVs displaying nature videos and framed inspirational posters of wood-lands and mountains. Subtle scents of potted plants and balsam fir extract oilwafted in the air. Without a doubt, the growing use of biophilic design, incor-porating actual and simulated natural elements, is transforming workplaces andhomes around the world. 11 Natural settings, featuring a park-like setting with trees and open areas, areespecially restorative to human health.“I go to nature to be soothed andhealed, and to have my sensesput in order.”—John Burroughs

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12The biophilia (literally meaning“love of life”) hypothesis positshumans, having spent 99.99% of theircollective existence in natural surround-ings, possess a genetically deter-mined, innate affiliation with nature,which is vital to our very survival.Unfortunately, humanity has alsobecome increasingly alienated fromnature, with city dwellers increasingfrom 3% of the world’s population in1800 to 54% in 2016, and projec-tions to reach 75% by 2050.Consequent tensions of overcrowding,coupled with chemical, light, andnoise pollution has been associatedwith an increase in sleep dysfunction,metabolic disorders, obesity, muscu-loskeletal complaints, common coldsand respiratory illnesses, gastrointesti-nal maladies, cardiovascular disease,cancer, headaches, cognitive and psy-chiatric declines, and o veralldecreased longevity.above:Virtual reality pictures ( connected to a camera ) or nature videos are alsorelaxing but, are less effective than windows with scenic views or spending actualtime in nature.below: Windows with scenic views of nature are calming and increase worker sat-isfaction. Also, learning in school.opposite page: Fractals, or repetitive patterns, are common in nature and canreduce stress by as much as 60%.

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14Worse, in the United States,national park visitation has fallen25% since 1988, and nature-basedrecreation has declined by 50% dur-ing the past four decades.Furthermore, Americans spend 93%of their time indoors and are the mostoverworked nation in the world (log-ging 499 more hours annually thanFrench workers in 2017). A recentGallop poll ranked the United Statesthe fifth most stressed of 151 coun-tries, with 41% of Americansfatigued, less than 20% flourishing,and 10% suffering from Internet anddigital device addiction. A 2015study found work-related stressaccounts for $190 billion in annualUS healthcare costs. In 1984, CraigBrod coined the term “technostress”to describe the failure to adapt to thedemands of modern computer andcommunication technologies(Americans consume 74 gigabytes ofdata per day and check their smart-phones 150 times/day). IronicallyEdward O. Wilson‘s seminal book,Biophilia, was first published in thesame year. Since then evidence hasprogressively accumulated establish-ing the beneficial applications of bio-philic principles—“what green cando for you”—are the best antidote forthis modern malaise. Stress occurs when situationaldemands overwhelm resource avail-ability, while homeostasis is main-tained through a balance of the auto-nomic nervous system’s sympatheticbranch controlling the “fight or flight”response and parasympatheticbranch involved in “rest and digest”functions. Two complementary theo-ries about Nature’s revitalizing influ-ence on humans explain biophilia’stherapeutic benefits. According tothe psycho-evolutionary, StressReduction Theory, nature acts directlyon the parasympathetic nervous sys-tem to reduce stress and autonomicarousal. The psycho-functionalAttention Restoration Theory is basedon the fatigue associated with direct-ed attention which simultaneouslyrequires active suppression of com-below left: Viewing natural greenvs. urban grey enhances memoryand creativitybelow right: Aromatherapy, using avariety of commercially availablescents distributed with reed diffusersor aerosols, has been scientificallyvalidated.opposite page: Concentrated oilsfrom coniferous trees contain phy-toncides, plant anti-microbials,which lower blood pressure and pre-frontal rumination, and increasesleep and boost immunity.

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ity in the amygdala (related to stress,anxiety, and impulsivity). Subjectiveself-assessments of nature vs. urbanexposure report reduced stress,increased relaxation and energy, anddecreased anxiety, depression, andanger. Corresponding objective labo-ratory measurements show decreas-ing activity in the prefrontal cortex onnear-infrared spectroscopy, increasedalpha (relaxation) waves on EEG,decreased heart rate, increased heartrate variability (a key parasympathet-ic indicator), decreased blood pres-sure, decreased adrenaline, nora-drenaline, cortisol, amylase, and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels,increased serum natural killer cell lev-els and activity, and increased levelsof anti-cancer proteins granulysin andgranzyme A, granzyme B, and per-forin. Beneficial health outcomes tiedto nature (mediated primarily by theparasympathetic nervous system andenhanced immune functioning)include improvements in: - a wide range of diseases (diabetesmellitus, obesity, musculoskeletal com-plaints, birth outcomes, various infec-tious illnesses, respiratory ailments,cardiovascular disease, cancer,migraines, attention deficit disorder,anxiety disorder, and depression), - lower levels of perceived effort dur-ing green exercise and better fitness,mood and sleep,- various social settings (childhooddevelopment of cognitive and motorskills in schools, improved productivi-ty and decreased sick time at work,better hospital outcomes with birth,pain control, post-surgical recovery,and reduced anger and aggressionin inner city housing projects andprisons) and- life satisfaction (sense of awe, grat-itude selflessness, general health,and longevity).While maximal benefits followprolonged exposure to Nature (seeshinrin-yoku article in Kaatskill Life,Fall 2018), surprisingly little invest-ment is required to reap her bless-ings. Studies have shown: 15peting distractions. Recovery is facili-tated in restorative natural environ-ments, which are effortlessly fascinat-ing, offer the sense of being away,have conceptual extent or vastness,and are compatible with the viewer’spreferences. As Stephen Kaplanobserved, there is a “significant rolethat directed attention, a key psycho-logical resource, plays in copingwith challenges . . . . Experience innatural environments can not onlyhelp mitigate stress; it can also pre-vent it through aiding in the recoveryof this essential resource.”Numerous scientific laboratory andfield investigations have validatedthese theories. Functional Magnetic ResonanceImaging studies of subjects viewingpictures of nature show decreasingactivity in the prefrontal cortex(involved in distraction suppression)and increasing activity in the anteriorcingulate and insular cortex (associat-ed with empathy and altruism), whileimages of urban areas increase activ-

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- 40-second micro-breaks viewing aflowering meadow (vs. urban scenes)are sufficient to restore cortical atten-tion control. - The initial five minutes provide thegreatest overall restoration;- 15 minutes are sufficient to reestab-lish vitality;- A 40-minute nature walk improvesproofreading skills; and- A two-hour shinrin-yoku sessionboosts sleep.- A minimum of five hours per monthin natural settings is required to opti-mize the dose-response relationshipEqually amazing, beneficialeffects, while maximized in naturalsurroundings, also accrue with otherforms of nature, including: garden-ing, windows of scenery, virtual real-ity views, pictures and films, pets(real and robotic), indoor plants (realand synthetic), floral arrangements,exposure to natural wood, negativeions, and natural sounds and scents.Aromatherapy studies with coniferousnatural tree oils (containing the phy-toncides D-limonene, alpha-pinene,beta-pinene, and camphene) havedocumented reduced stress, lowerblood pressure, and increased sleep,while boosting immune system activi-ty, confirming Robert LouisStevenson’s observation:“It is not so much for its beauty thatthe forest makes a claim upon men’shearts, as for that subtle somethingthat quality of air emanation from oldtrees, that so wonderfully chargesand renews a weary spirit.” Even simply viewing the colorgreen (vs. gray) has been shown toaugment memory and creativity.Finally, biophilc design seeks toincorporate the presence of naturalfeatures (curvilinear forms, grada-tions of color, blending of textures)and elements (water, plants) in build-ings to enhance “human wellbeing,stress reduction, cognitive efficiency,learning, and healing processes.”Roughly two hundred years ago theCatskills emerged as “America’s firstwilderness.” An ensuing wildernesssage tradition extolled the value ofnature and warned of the impendingperils of the Industrial Age. It was theprodigy of the “screaming, frenzied,pulsating machines” John Burroughswitnessed at the 1876 CentennialExhibition in Philadelphia that wroughtsuch devastation in the twentieth cen-tury’s two world wars and culminatedin the creation of Colossus—a seriesof deciphering machines that were theworld’s first programmable, electronic,digital computers. Today, its descen-dants have enslaved humanity(Americans spend an average of 10hours and 39 minutes per day staringat electronic media), not through theself-awareness of the Terminatorseries’ Skynet, but the all-encompass-ing human need to survive and thrivein the Information Age. Ironically, it ismankind that must now self-authenti-cate with the nature of our origins,supplemented with practical applica-tions of biophilic principles and com-puterized simulations of nature (tech-nobiophilia).Author’s Notes: For more informationon biophilia read The NaturePrinciple by Richard Louv, Your Brainon Nature by Eva M. Selhub andAlan C. Logan, The Nature Fix byFlorence Williams, and The BiophiliaEffect by Clemens G. Arvay. 16TheBlack Raven2 Wind PlaceWhitesboro, New York315-941-3766The perfect mix ofcolonial and primitive stylefurniture and accessories for your home. TheBlack RavenHandmade Primitives and Lighting

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18Perhaps you have been to theWalkway Over the Hudson that spansthe Hudson from Poughkeepsie on theeast, to Highland on the west. It’s nowa pedestrian bridge, repurposed froma very old railroad line. It offers stun-ning views of the Hudson Highlandsto the south, and the Catskills to thenorth. It’s very much worth the effortand we highly recommend it to you.But now there is a new crossing, wellto the north: the Hudson River Skyway.The Skyway uses an updated pedestri-an walkway over the Rip Van WinkleBridge that has been extended to con-nect the Thomas Cole NationalKaat skil lGeologistA Trip Across the River.by Robert and Johanna TitusHistoric Site, on the western side, withthe Olana State Historic Site, on theeast side (figs. 1 & 2). There has longbeen a pedestrian walkway there (fig.3) but now it has been dressed up abit. The new walk links the homes oftwo giants of the Hudson River Schoolof Art: Thomas Cole its founder andFrederic Church, its most successfulpainter and Cole’s onetime student.The purpose is, of course, to generateinterest in these artists, their style oflandscape art and the history of thisart movement. There just might besome hope in generating a little bit oftourism as well!above (fig. 1):Cedar Grove.opposite page, top (fig. 2):Olana.opposite page, bottom (fig. 3):TheRip Van Winkle Bridge withpedestrian walkway.

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We didn’t even get to the bridgebefore we found our first journey intothe geological past. On the rightside of the trail was an outcrop ofsedimentary rocks. Some of the stratawere thinly laminated black shaleswhile the rest were much thicker hori-zons of gray sandstones (fig. 4).The Hudson River School is some-thing that all of us, here in theCatskills, should be proud of. Its artistsexplored the “sublime” imagery ofAmerica’s still widespread wilderness.The “School” was America’s first for-mally recognized art movement and itwas enormously successful during themiddle of the 19th Century. The twoof us have long been active andenthusiastic members of both CedarGrove and Olana. The art of theHudson River School has often influ-enced our writing, especially in thismagazine. To us, landscape art andlandscape geology are closely linked.With the new pathway, peoplecan visit either Cedar Grove orOlana and then embark on a scenictrail, taking them to the other site.Are landscape art and landscapegeology truly linked? We could hard-ly wait to go and find out whatadventures in time awaited us alongthe new trail. We expected tozigzag back and forth through timeand we would not be disappointed.Let’s take you along too. Our trekbegan at the back of the parking lotat the Temple Israel Synagogue nextto Cedar Grove. That’s only a fewsteps from the beginning of the trailwhich leads down a slow inclinetowards the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.20below (fig.4):Greenville townhistorian, Don Teator, looks atoutcrop of Normanskill Formation,just west of bridge.

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These strata belong to a unit of rockcalled Normanskill Formation. But, as geologists, the two of usare privileged to see some otherviews at this outcrop. At that wonder-ful location our minds eyes driftedback into deep time: a full 450 mil-lion years. We found ourselves at thebottom of the oceanic abyss that wasonce here. The waters were coldand black, but more than anythingelse they were still and silent. Thiswas a dead seafloor. Nothingcrawled on these muds and nothingswam in these waters. We leaneddown and scooped up some of themud; it was soft and sticky. It wasfoul with the remains of deadmicrobes that constantly rained infrom above.With time the sands came - in theforms of submarine avalanches. Thestillness was abruptly interrupted asthe seafloor shook with an earth-quake, and shortly thereafter greatmasses of sediment began tumblingdown the slopes from our east. Forseveral long minutes there was a pow-erful rush of dirty water. The currentboiled, as murky clouds billowedupwards all around us. Then the flowsslowed and gradually the waterscleared. This abyssal seafloorreturned to its silent dead stillness. Afreshly deposited thick horizon of graysand lay all around us. It would, withtime, harden into one of the sand-stones that we saw along the trail.Our mind’s eyes rose through tensof thousands of feet of quiet wateruntil they reached the surface of thissea. We gazed eastward and sawdense black clouds rising above thehorizon. The blackness drifted ourway and soon it rained volcanic dustinto the waters all around. Then welooked back eastward again andnow a rising landmass had replacedthe clouds on the horizon. The starkprofiles of black volcanoes definedthe silhouette of this new horizon.The passage of time accelerated.As we watched, this landmass grewtaller and its shores expanded west-ward. These were the rising TaconicMountains. We were soon lifted outof the sea by the rising gray crust.Occasionally, the earth beneath usshook with more great earthquakesThat’s what happens as mountainsrise higher and higher. Eventually,we found our mind’s eyes selves highatop a still rising Taconic Mountainrange. To the north and south, volca-noes sporadically erupted in violentspasms. Below, to the west, whatwas left of that deep sea retreatedaway from the rising mountains. Wedescended those slopes and headedwestward toward the old coastline.There should have been a greatdeal of green in the landscapes herebut there was none. It was a deadlandscape that had replaced a deadseafloor. We were in the lateOrdovician time period, and life,especially plants, had not yet man-aged to colonize the lands. Allaround us was a bleak, blue-graylandscape. There were not evenproper soils, just a litter of gray grav-el lying upon bare sediments. Onlythe dry channels of gullies andravines broke the monotony of thisdesolation.We realized that we had come tothe very spot where, 450 millionyears later, the Rip Van WinkleBridge would stand (fig. 3). But wewould not see any such thing. Now,below us and off to the west, a largeriver delta had formed adjacent tothe rising Taconic Mountains. A com-plex of murky streams crisscrossedthe dark gray mucks of that delta.Farther away, we could see theretreating waters of the sea. It was ableak and lifeless vista, but there wasgrandeur in this. We returned to the present,looked east and continued towardthe Bridge (fig. 5).21Ahead of us was a view of theeast side of the Hudson. But, in aflash of time, we saw it as it was dur-ing one of the centuries just beforethe Ice Age began. We saw whatwould eventually become ChurchHill. There were two big differencesthough. First, Olana was, of course,not there. But, more importantly, thetop of the hill was much higher thanit is today. And it was also a lot morerugged. It lacked the smooth stream-lining that Church Hill and Mt.Moreno, to the north display nowa-days. (fig. 6)We found that this olden ChurchHill was also a forlorn looking land-scape. It was fully covered, liketoday, with a forest, but every singletree of this forest was dead. The IceAge was, indeed, developing and ithad become so cold that all the treeshad died. It was a silent stand ofbare tree trunks. It was so silent;there were no birds, nor any insectsand all the branches and limbs haddried out and fallen to the ground.We were caught off guard andquite surprised. Suddenly, to our left,the north, we saw a glacier. It filledthe Hudson Valley, but also spreadacross the whole northern horizon.The ice was slowly advancing to thesouth. We were the mind’s eyes; wecould go anywhere and do anything.We rose up high into the sky and wewatched as years passed by and agreat mass of ice advanced beneathus. We were privileged to see allthis; we were awed to see all this.The flow continued through a longperiod of time. The ice advanceddown the Hudson Valley, thenswelled and spread up the valley’sslopes. It rose a good bit more, andthen even more; it ascended theCatskill. Front. It flowed across thisfront and flooded into all theCatskills. High above, we, the mind’seyes, looked down and watched allthis unfold.

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Below the moving ice, Mt.Moreno and Church Hill were beingshaped. The ice was streamliningthem both and lowering them too.These two hills are known to geolo-gists as rock drumlins. Mt. Moreno isthe best of the two. Take another lookat figure 6 and see two very typicalrock drumlins. This was the creationof a landscapes that Frederic Churchwould find so inspiring thousands ofyears later. Church would paint thislandscape, but the glacier hadsculpted it. And we had seen it all We continued forward on today’sbridge.22above (fig.5):Church Hill, a rockdrumlin, rises above pedestrianwalkway. left (fig.6):Satellite view of Mt.Moreno and Church Hill. Courtesyof U.S. Geological Survey.opposite page (fig.7):Graveldrumlin above bridge and belowChurch Hill.

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Now, at the east end of thebridge, we saw something else. Thehighway had been cut through a lowand, again, streamlined hill (fig. 7).A parking lot had, long ago, beenplaced there so that people couldpark, climb the grassy slope of thathill and take in a view of the Hudsonand the distant Catskills. We did thattoo but our view, while very different,was equally scenic.This was a very little hill, but it hada lot of history. It was another drum-lin; it was shaped and streamlinedmuch like Mt. Moreno and ChurchHill. But this one was not a rockdrumlin; it was composed of sandand gravel. It took us back, onceagain, to the Ice Age, but this time alater episode of glaciation. The pre-vious glaciation had ended, andpretty much all its ice had meltedaway. The valley had been emptyonce again, but not for long. The cli-mate grew cold again. But this timewe were ready for what was goingto happen. We, the mind’s eyes,rose up into the sky and lookednorth. And, sure enough, anotherglacier was coming down theHudson Valley, but this time it was somuch smaller. This one would fill theHudson Valley, but be limited in itsfurther expansion.After zigzagging back to the pres-ent still again, we continued on thetrail; we would soon learn a lot moreabout this second episode of glacia-tion. The trail crossed Rte. 9G (fig. 8)and continued north on that road fora distance. Then it turned right andascended steeply toward Olana. Itwas that steepness that caught ourattention; it had to mean something.Can such a slope actually meansomething? That may seem like anodd idea, but we are geologists andwe think thoughts such as these. We23

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25were climbing the western slope ofthat rock drumlin. The lateral slopesof drumlins are generally steep butthis one seemed too steep. How hadit formed? We saw, immediately, thatour younger glaciation provided usopposite page, top (fig.8):Artist’sview of the Skywalk. Image courtesyof Olana.opposite page, bottom (fig.9):AFredric Church “planned view” fromtop of Church Hill.with a good explanation. Thatyounger and smaller glacier wouldhave rubbed up against this slopeand cut into it. That is what hadsteepened the slope that the trailascended.Now we understood what the gla-ciers had done here, the first onehad shaped Church Hill into astreamlined and symmetrical rockdrumlin. The second glacier hadsteepened its slope, at least on itswestern side.We finished our ascent andpassed Olana. The trail took us a lit-tle farther to a newly restoredplanned view, originally designed byFrederic Church (Fig. 9). This van-tagepoint lies at the top of that steep-ened slope. We gazed down intothe valley below with our mind’seyes. We watched as that youngerand smaller glacial advance passedbelow us. It, like everything else ontoday’ trek, was a marvel, a geolog-ical marvel that inspired a great dealof very fine art.Contact the authors at randjtitus@prodigy.net. Join theirfacebook page “The CatskillGeologist.” Read their blogs at thecatskillgeologist.com.

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26Kaat skil lForest Historian

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27West Kill Mountain: Greene County’s Largest First Growth TractIncluding early settlements and historic industries.by Michael Kudishphotography by the author unless otherwise noted

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Now, it’s time to continue the west-ward trend along the great centralrange of the Catskills, discussingWest Kill Mountain and its forest his-tory. West Kill Mountain hosts thelargest tract of first growth (virgin orprimeval) forest in Greene County.The great central range begins inUlster County with OverlookMountain and extends northwest-ward over Plattekill, Indian Head,Twin, Sugarloaf, Plateau, Hunter,West Kill, North Dome, Sherrill,Halcott, Vly, Bearpen, across GrandGorge; and ends with MountUtsayantha in Delaware County. West Kill Mountain is, therefore,in the middle of the great centralrange. Its elevation, 3,880 feet(1,183 meters), makes it the sixthhighest in the Catskills, surpassedonly by Slide, Hunter, and the threeBlackhead Range summits. West KillMountain is on the south side of thevalley of the West Kill, the streamafter which it is named. The summit isnear, but not at, the head of thestream (Hunter Mountain is at thehead). West Kill Mountain covers alarge area, about 20 square miles,of which 6.5 square miles are still infirst growth. This peak stretches fivemiles from the West Kill on the northto Esopus Creek on the south. Itspans a width of four miles, fromMink Hollow (not to be confusedwith another Mink Hollow that sepa-rates Sugarloaf from PlateauMountains) on the west to HollowTree Gap (also called Diamond28In the Winter 2016 issue of Kaatskill Life, I wrote about PlateauMountain and its varied forest history. In the summer 2014 issue,I wrote about Hunter Mountain and its slice of first growth. opposite page:Red House Falls onthe West Kill.opposite page:The author, MichaelKudish stands next to a twenty nineinch diameter red spruce conifer inDiamond Notch. photography by KatieWeathers, I.F.S.

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Notch) on the east. West KillMountain is now part of the Hunter-West Kill Wilderness Area.BOGS AND POSTGLACIAL HISTORYPeat from the bottom of two bogs,one at the Mountain Top Arboretumnear Tannersville, and one in theTown of Conesville in SchoharieCounty, were radiocarbon-dated to14,900 years, informing us that theWisconsinan Ice Sheet had meltedby then. The timing of forestation for theCatskills as a whole is at about 13,900years. There is no reason to believe thatthe timing of these events was any dif-ferent on West Kill Mountain.By 13,700 years, red spruce, bal-sam fir, eastern hemlock, and yellowbirch were all here and widely-distrib-uted throughout the region. But thespruce and fir did not migrate in as abroad front from the south and south-west, covering the entire Catskills, asdid the hemlock, yellow birch, andmost hardwood species. Spruce andfir migrated in as narrow bands con-centrated in the eastern Catskills. Thewestern edge of the red spruce bandis here located on Saint Anne’s Peakon the west shoulder of West KillMountain. Balsam fir’s band edge isa little farther to the west; it occurs onthe adjacent peaks North Dome andSherrill but no farther.The northern hardwood forestbeech, red and sugar maples, blackcherry arrived sometime between8,000 and 6,000 years ago through-out the Catskills, but it could havebeen a little earlier than that.The two bogs on West KillMountain do not radiocarbon-date oldenough to tell us if there have beenany great changes in forest cover inthe early years following deglaciation.29The peat at the bottom of Bog #372,on the east spur of the mountain, isonly 2,600 years old. The peat at thebottom of Bog #376, on the southspur, dates only to 6,200 years. Theforest has not changed since.NATURAL DISTURBANCENatural disturbances have alwaysoccurred on all Catskills peaks.Blowdown, ice, and snow damageare routine at higher elevations.Landslides on the steepest slopes andon steep stream banks at lower ele-vations are also routine. Floods arebelow:The Diamond notch talus, aslope formed by the accumulation ofrock debris, looking north east. photography by Katie Weathers, I.F.S.

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there had been repeated burning byNative Peoples (see CFA News,Catskill Forest Association’s newslet-ter, Summer 2017 for the article“Esopus Oaks”). Here are local pock-ets of northern red oak, black birch,shagbark and bitternut hickories, andeven a few American chestnutsprouts all evidence of forest fires,likely beginning perhaps 7,000 to6,000 years ago and persisting untilthe 17th or 18th century.EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT ANDFARMSThe history books do not tell usmuch about the precise dates of set-tlement in the valleys surroundingWest Kill Mountain. We do know thatthere was a tannery in 1820 alongthe West Kill a few miles downstreamfrom West Kill Mountain, near thepresent hamlet of West Kill. We knowalso that there was a sawmill runningin the Stony Clove Valley at Lanesvilleby 1830. The Town of Lexington wasincorporated in 1813. Most of themore remote tributary valleys of theCatskills were settled between 1800and 1820.Farms around West Kill Mountainwere limited to the valley bottoms andlower slopes in the West Kill andStony Clove Valleys. In the West Killvalley, pastures climbed the northslopes of West Kill Mountain to eleva-tions between 2,300 and 2,400 feet.In the Hollow Tree Brook Valley, pas-tures climbed the southeast slopes ofthe peak to about 1,675 feet. Alongthe main Stony Clove Valley and inBradstreet (often spelled Broadstreet)Hollow, pastures climbed the southslopes of West Kill Mountain only toabout 1,300 feet. In Ox Clove,Schwarzwaelder’s Great Meadow for30common on flood plains. Occasionaldroughts and native insect defolia-tions take their toll. The accompany-ing map shows some blowdown anddefoliation areas.NATIVE AMERICANSThe rough terrain of most of WestKill Mountain was not conducive tosettlements, agriculture, and nut cul-ture, but it is likely that this peak wasa fishing, hunting, and food-gather-ing ground for Native Americans. The exception was the southerlyslopes adjacent to the Esopus Valley,mainly below 2,000 feet, wherebelow:View down the West Kill val-ley from Hunter Mountain summit.

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hay and apples, topped out at 1,520feet (see paragraphs on sawmills andfactories below).TANNINGAlong the West Kill, there were twotanneries near the lower end of the val-ley just above the hamlet of West Kill.In my catalog (Kudish, 2000, pp.157 and 158), they were #T28 and#T29. Bark roads on the north slopesof West Kill Mountain have not beenmapped so we do not know how farup the bark peelers worked. The upperlimit of hemlock today averages about2,800 feet. I suspect that this limit hasnot changed since and slopes above2,800 feet were not barked. There were no tanneries in theStony Clove Valley. We do know thatSimpson’s Phoenix Tannery (#T53),running from 1836 to 1870 inPhoenicia, barked Mount Tremperalmost to Chichester. We don’t knowjust how far down the Stony CloveValley beyond Edgewood Edwardsworked from his tannery (T#22) inHunter.Bradstreet Hollow was probablybarked by the Whitney Tannery, #T51,located in the hamlet of ShandakenCenter, sometime between 1835 and1865. This writer found one of theirbark roads and followed it up to anelevation of 1,789 feet (see map).SAWMILLS AND FACTORIES There were four sawmills in theWest Kill Valley running in the 1850sthrough 1870s. Some of them mayhave been built a few decades earli-er. Two mills were near the hamlet ofWest Kill, off the included map, andtwo were upstream: #232 aboveMink Hollow and #231 at HunterBrook. Find the sawmill and otherindustries catalog in Kudish (2000,pages 156 to 182).In Bradstreet Hollow, there weretwo sawmills running in the 1870sjust north of the county line #289and #290.In the Stony Clove Valley, therewere four sawmills betweenChichester and Lanesville, #297 to#300, plus a sieve shop and turningmill #F477. The most famous indus-try in the Stony Clove Valley was theChichester furniture factory, #F478,built in 1863 and purchased bySchwarzwaelder in 1907. A wholebook about this industry has beenwritten (Bennett, 1999). Some of the31below:Looking up the Ox CloveGreat Meadow to the north west. Goldenrods and asters have maintained the clearing for almost100 years.

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logging roads used in conjunctionwith this factory are shown on a mapby Schmitt (1920) and copied here.The factory closed in 1968.RAILROADThe Stony Clove and CatskillMountain Railroad was built in1881through Chichester and Lanesville. Itwas standard-gauged in 1899 asthe Stony Clove and KaaterskillBranch of the Ulster & DelawareRailroad, and abandoned in 1940.It had served the Chichester andSchwarzwaelder factories and sever-al other industries up the valley. CHARCOAL AND RECENT BURNSIn addition to the ancient andrepeated burns above EsopusCreek (see paragraphs above onNative Americans), there were afew more recent forest fires in thearea. Schmitt’s 1917 map showsan old burn about a mile west-southwest of West Kill’s summit.This writer found charcoal on theridge southwest of Mert Hollowevidence of a former burn. Theremay have been more.BLUESTONE QUARRYINGThere were five bluestone quarriesaround the periphery of West KillMountain. #Q869 and #Q868 werelocated on the ridge southwest of MertHollow at elevations of 1,692 and1,866 feet, respectively. There weretwo more out of Bradstreet Hollow atelevations of 1,959 and 2,614 feet,with a stone loading dock along theBradstreet Hollow stream at elevation1,544. The quarry at 2,892 feet alongthe south spur of West Kill Mountainwas accessed from Ox Clove. I haveno detail available on the companieswho quarried or the dates of operation.We do know, however, that the peakyears of bluestone quarrying throughoutthe Catskills was from about 1870through about 1910.STATE OF NEW YORK ACQUISITIONState lands form a patchwork quiltover West Kill Mountain, consistingof many small lots acquired as forestpreserve over many years, the great-est number of lots acquired between1922 and 1934. The mountain wasclassified as the West KillWilderness Area in the early 1960swith Hunter Mountain annexed to itsometime between 2005 and 2010.32below:View, from left to right, ofCornell, Wittenberg and Slide moun-tains looking south from Ox CloveGreat Meadow.

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Now it is called the Hunter-West KillMountain Wilderness Area.RECREATION trails, ski, lean-toAn unimproved road first appearsin the 1867 Beers’ Greene CountyAtlas, connecting the West Kill Valleywith the Stony Clove Valley atLanesville. The road passed throughHollow Tree Gap, the east boundaryof West Kill Mountain. In 1937, theNew York State ConservationDepartment widened and improvedthe old road into a ski trail andnamed it the Diamond Notch Trail.The Diamond Notch lean-to was builtin September 1969.The Devil’s Path hiking trail wasbegun in 1929 on Indian HeadMountain and extended in phasesgradually westward to HunterMountain in 1935. It was morerecently built over West Kill Mountainin the summer and fall of 1973. OTHER FEATURESThere are some unusual naturalfeatures on West Kill Mountain whichmight be worth noting here. The Devil’s Path follows a seep (aslow-moving brook in a wetland) for aconsiderable distance on the westshoulder of the peak, spanning an ele-vation from 3,632 to 3,703 feet. Thisseep exhibits an array of plants morecommonly seen at far lower elevations.The ridge southwest of Mert Hollowis unusual in that it has a brook flow-ing down along the top of it. This isthe ridge that harbors two quarriesand an old burn. The lower quarryface includes some breccia a rareform of rock in the Catskills suggestingan underwater landslide depositsometime during the Devonian.CONCLUSIONThose areas left over those thathave not been farmed, barked,logged, quarried, or burned supportfirst growth forest. This type of forestis also called virgin or primeval. Asstated above, West Kill Mountainhas the largest such tract in the north-eastern Catskills of Greene Countysome 6.5 square miles. It consists oflargely northern hardwood forestbeech, yellow birch, sugar and redmaples, and black cherry. Easternhemlock is found up to an elevationof about 2,800 feet, while the highridges are dominated by balsam firwith some red spruce generallyabove 3,000 feet. REFERENCESBeers, F. W. 1867. Atlas ofGreene County, New York. NewYork: F. W. Beers, A. D. Ellis, & G.G. Soule, publishers.1875. County Atlas of Ulster,New York. New York: Walker &Jewett, publishers.Beers, J. B. 1884. History ofGreene County, New York. NewYork: J. B. Beers & Co.Bennett, Reginald. 1999. TheMountains Look Down A History ofChichester A Company Town in theCatskills. Fleischmanns, NY: PurpleMountain Press.Kudish, Michael. Volumes pub-lished in Fleischmanns, NY by thePurple Mountain Press:2000. The Catskill Forest: AHistory.2011. Mountain Railroads ofNew York State, Volume IV: WhereDid the Tracks Go in the Catskills?2017. Addendum to Where Didthe Tracks Go in the Catskills?New York State ConservationDepartment, Albany, NY.Publications over the years: CatskillLand Map and Catskill Trails.Schmitt, Karl. 1917. FireProtection Map of the Catskill Forest.Albany, NY: New York StateConservation Commission.1920. Type Map Lands in SouthPart Great Lots 23 and 24, etc.Publisher not stated, but probablyNew York State ConservationCommission, Albany, NY.Sylvester, Nathaniel Bartlett.1880. History of Ulster County, NewYork. Woodstock, NY: The Overlookpress, republished 1977.34opposite pag, top:Loren Quimbyand JudithWyman explore the blowdown from Hurricane Floyd,September 1999, in Ox Clove.opposite page, below:Upturnedboulder in a spruce and fir thicketSouth of bog #376, Brad StreetHollow site.above:Pool E out of bog #376 inBradstreet Hollow between w andww. photography by Gary Hockstrafollowing page:Defoliation bycaterpillars at the head of BradstreetHollow, location elevation 2,200feet.

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Steve Aaron is an award winning landscape photographer specializing in images of the Hudson Valley,Shawangunks, Catskills and surroundingareas. His current work demonstrates aunique perspective based on a deepunderstanding of the landforms of theregion.Steve’s work has been published inBackpacker Magazine, NY Newsday,Hudson Valley Magazine, UltrarunningWestkill Mountain Images by Steve Aron

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numerous galleries throughout theHudson Valley region.Steve lives in Valley Cottage, NY withhis family.Magazine & Adirondack Sports &Fitness. Steve has contributed photogra-phy to the National Park Service, theNature Conservancy, Open SpaceInstitute, Mohonk Preserve, the NYNJTrail Conference, the ShawangunkMountains Scenic Byway & KeepRockland Beautiful. He has done contract photography for the OpenSpace Institute, the Trust for Public Landand the Land Conservancy of NewJersey. His work has been displayed in Steve’s work can be seen at www.steveaaronphoto.com and www.facebook.com/SteveAaronPhoto/Steve can be contacted at steveaaronphoto@gmail.com

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Tree roots - On the trail ascending Westkill

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Large tree with trail marker - Along the Devil’s Path on West Kill

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Trees along trail - Classic Catskill birch in the forest along the trail

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Fall view down valley - Looking towards Diamond Notch Hollow from Buck Ridge Lookout

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Cave in rocks - Rock overhang on the trail

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Rocks - Devil’s Path steeps on Westkill

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Panaroma - View from Buck Ridge Lookout on Westkill Mtn

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Twin waterfall with bridge - Diamond Notch Falls

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UPCOMING EVTREE ID VENTpani TH Road NY0PMATION, INC.SOCIATION, INC.) 586-3054g mbers.killforest.org rsity of our Catskill ensics. Learn about ure out why that tree ID with R y an T r aLYJULY 13T541 Cemet ery RMargaretville, 10AM-12:30HOS BY THE CTED BY THE CATATSKILL FOREST ASSCALL TO REGISTER: (845) 586-3054 Members free; $10/non-memACFcatsoday. Learn more online at forests tve sculpted the dive how past land use may haowing there using a little forest fore might be gro identify trees as well as figu Join us on a walk tTREE ID

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A love story paved the way for theCatskills conglomerate Foster SupplyHospitality, home to the Arnold House,located on Shandelee Mountain inSullivan County’s Livingston Manor.It was the summer of 2011 whencity dwellers Sims Foster and KirstenHarlow Foster met during a fly fishingexpedition to the Catskills. She couldnot know that she would fall in lovewith both Sims and the area, and thatshe would marry Sims two years later48KaatskillDining/LodgingsTHE ARNOLD HOUSEFirst in the Foster Supply Hospitality Familyby Rebecca Andre, photography by author unless noted.in a quintessential Catskills weddingcelebration that they now use as amodel for events their hotels host.So began a partnership that con-tinues to grow, along with their fami-ly. Sims was born and raised inLivingston Manor, so their two chil-dren are considered “fifth- generationManor,” proudly says Kirsten.Lawrence Braun

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The group of hotels and restau-rants that comprise Foster SupplyHospitality (FSH) are the NorthBranch Inn, Nine River Rd., TheDebruce, and The Arnold House, allof which host their own eateries.There are two stand-alone restau-rants—The Cabin at Hessinger-Lareand Piccolo Paese RistoranteItaliano. This article will focus on theArnold House and Tavern.An economist by training, with aMasters Degree in Economics andInternational Policy, Kirsten was liv-ing in New York City and working infinance. Her work took her to Africabut, here at home, she spent adecade as a Senior Policy Advisorfor the Federal Reserve Bank of NewYork and the U.S. TreasuryDepartment. Sims, who began working inrestaurants at thirteen, spent sometime studying music and playing pro-fessionally, but returned to hospitalityafter college. He holds illustrious cre-dentials—Vice President and SeniorVP of hospitality groups—and hasopened more than 40 restaurants,bars, and hotels during his career.One might say the two were amatch made in entrepreneurial heav-en, though they never anticipated aventure quite like this one. Since2014, they have built a brandknown for its back-to-nature, analogpersonality, attracting Brooklynites indesperate need of a place to unplugand recharge. This brand almost didn’t happen.When a devastating fire destroyedSims’s venture, Lazy Beagle, in the49 Lawrence BraunLawrence Brauntop right:Vanessa Hadden, ExecutiveChef, The Arnold House, with staff.

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50Livingston Manor’s historic HoosBuilding that was owned by Sims’father, Barry, in November of 2012,the couple had a decision to make.“We’re heartbroken,” Sims said ofthe loss to the Sullivan CountyDemocrat. “We didn’t really know whetherwe should keep going or not,” saysKirsten. They both had full-time jobsin the city, and the restaurant wasmeant to be a side venture. Then Lanza’s Country Inn, aManor staple, went up for sale. As achild, Sims had dined and madememories with his family there. Thecouple were inspired to purchase theproperty and make improvements,though the sense of heart-warmingnostalgia remains. Sims named theestablishment after his grandfather,Arnold.“We didn’t really know what itwould do, but we knew the area waslacking in hotels. . . an area dear toour hearts, it’s our community, it’swhere we want to invest as much aswe can,” says Kirsten. “We want ourkids to be raised with grass beneaththeir feet, splinters, and their grand-parents next door.”Sold-out winter weekends encour-aged the pair to dive into the hospi-tality industry full-time, investing inmore local properties and eventuallyquitting their jobs in the city. In thepast five years, the couple hasopened four hotels and multiplerestaurants, and won some awardsalong the way. The DeBruce wasnamed on Conde Nast Traveler’s2018 Hot List of the Best NewHotels in the World and also namedone of Esquire’s 2018 BestRestaurants in America.Foster Supply Hospitality evenmanages to transform star guests intovalued employees. Christine

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“Gather around the fire in the sun-room, play pool or the jukeboxdownstairs in the Tavern. In July andAugust, listen to live music on Fridaynights in the Tavern, which also hostscomedy nights in the winter.“Take a stroll around the garden insummer, go for a hike, catch a fish,take a farm tour or go on a photosafari.” There is even a coveredbridge tour, complete with directionsto the two local bridges—theLivingston Manor Covered Bridgeand the Beaverkill Covered Bridge.51Monello, Director of Marketing, andher husband were drawn to theSullivan County upstate community.After spending time at several FSHproperties she applied for a job.Official Catskills transplants after twowinters, she is here to stay. “There isdefinitely something that is happen-ing here, or about to happen.”The concept of return-to-familyand-land is obvious at the ArnoldHouse. None of the rooms have tele-visions. This is the case at all all FSHhotels. Instead, there are books toread and hand-written notes inspiringan assortment of indoor and outdooractivities: “Return to an evening bonfire,recounting stories of the day.’Staying unplugged is encouraged.Modern day needs are seen to, soWiFi is available for those looking tokeep the lines of communicationsopen; though Kirsten has observedover the years the change in guestsfrom arrival to departure. At check-in,they are still attached to theirphones. By the time check-outarrives, the stress has melted fromtheir shoulders and they are lookingout instead of down.“By Sunday they have let go, theythank us. You can tell they have beenrestored, in a way,” says Kirsten.

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52“The soul needs time to re-energizeand inspiration needs to come fromsomewhere other than Instagram,”she says.The property does inspire relax-ation, with its effortless vintagecharm that transports visitors back tothe analog days of the 1960s. Re-designed by Kirstin, the eleven roomsevoke an easy informality that goesalong with the old school charm ofThe Arnold House. Across the street from the mainbuilding is the remodeled house thatwas home to Lanza family members.On the ground floor is The Spa, itsfresh and calming atmosphereextending to The Shandelee Loft onthe second floor. This suite is expan-sive and uncluttered, with comfort-able, clean lines and state-of-the-artbath fixtures. Though all of FSH prop-erties are kid and pet-friendly, the loftsuite offers a uniquely allergy-freeexperience.This quiet retreat on ShandeleeMountain has a new WellnessDirector, Meaghan Mullally Gorr.She wants the guests, as well as thecommunity, to participate in TheSpa’s rejuvenating offerings. Withten years in corporate wellness, andalready a fan of Foster SupplyCompany, Meaghan is a perfect fitto lead the guests in relaxation. Herfive therapists offer everything frommassage and facials to body, hair,and scalp treatments. “We’ve been a little bit of a hid-den secret,” says Meaghan. “Weare taking the next step towardsinvolving the community.” Pullingfrom her time as a personal trainerand leader in group fitness, she isworking on creating a robust, wellrounded wellness program across allof the FSH properties, that willinclude yoga and pilates.“The Arnold House is the mostaccessible of all our properties,”says Kirsten. Mid-week rates start at

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53$199/night before taxes; and$229/night before taxes. Ratesinclude daily breakfasts for two.There are several event spaces in theworks, including a refurbished barnthat hosts weddings. The latest addi-tion is a newly-installed greenhouse,adding room for additional gather-ings and, of course, plants. Director of Gardens (fittinglynamed Scott Woods), is enthusiasticin his plans for the greenhouse andthe surrounding gardens. Growingup on a tree farm, he went on tostudy nursery management atCobbelskill, then art and illustrationin New York City, before moving toLos Angeles.Scott’s resume includes workingfor Dreamworks on Shrek and otheranimated films. Once homesicknessset in, he returned to the Catskills.His time as Head Grower at theMonhonk Mountain House preparedhim well for the job of overseeing thegarden expansion at The ArnoldHouse.“I just love plants; I am a totalplant nerd,” says Scott. In fact,guests often ask him for advice ontheir own plants. The goal of thegreenhouse is to provide an addition-al event space, a place to hold fam-ily reunions—even yoga classes.“Honestly, the Catskill weather ischallenging, and we wanted a placewhere you could have a Hawaiianwedding in January,” says Scott.Brides will be able to choose fromoverflowing hanging baskets andwell established tropicals. Scott and his staff are working onattracting local wildlife, such as hum-ming birds and butterflies, to thegrounds of the Arnold House, whichis certified with the North AmericanButterfly Association as an officialMonarch butterfly habitat. Thekitchen garden is being cultivated sothat chefs and guests alike can beencouraged to pick from fresh herbs

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54and produce—asparagus, blueber-ries, and strawberries.Vanessa Hadden is ExecutiveChef of the The Arnold House sinceits opening in 2014. She grew upthere and says she is staying true tothe Tavern fare of (apple-smoked)wings and burgers (house-ground),but the menu offers so much more.Vanessa is taking advantage of theleft:Kirsten Harlow Foster, co-founder of Foster Supply Companyright: Meaghan Mullally Gorr,Director of Wellnessbelow: Scott Woods, Director ofGardens, with his cumquat tree,which he received from StevenSpielberg’s mother on his 40thbirthday.

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gastronomy and steakhouse back-ground of her two sous chefs to cre-ate additional dishes that will elevatethe pub-style menu. Whenever possi-ble, her recipes highlight local ingre-dients as well as those found in thekitchen garden. “We use Tonjes (Dairy Farm) for alot of our dairy products, cheeses,and for our ice-cream program,” saysVanessa. Also on the menu is TonjesHalloumi Sticks with tomato coulis. Ofcourse, trout plays an important role inthe menu, with a starter of Smoked55Trout Dip with pickled vegetable orBeaverkill Trout with grilled ramps. Goat Cheese Pizza with pesto,arugula, and tomatoes are a favorite,along with the Lamb Gyro andChipotle Chicken Skewers withcilantro lime aioli and a tomato pestocouscous salad. Steaks cooked to per-fection take center stage. Choose froman 8 oz. Flank or a 14 oz Ribeye,grilled with kosher salt and black pep-per and topped with herb butter.Affordable pricing, along with thewarm wood tones and tall tables thatline the dining room, make dining atthe Arnold House fun and familyfriendly. While waiting for your food,play a game of foos-ball, dance to atune or two on the jukebox, or sip ona cup of fresh-brewed tea.You will not want to leave.To quote a pillow that dots theArnold House decor: ‘Bonfires arebetter than therapy.’Please visit the website www.fostersupplyco.com for all pricing and booking needs.Ronald Cadiz

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GILBOA MUSEUM & JURIED HISTORY CENTERFRANCIS X. DRISCOLLGREENE COUNTYFrancis X. Driscoll’s images have been in NationalGeographic Explorer and on the cover of I Love NewYork magazine. He’s captured many iconic imagesof the Catskills and his work evokes the HudsonRiver School of Art nearly two centuries ago. Heshares his craft with others by leading hikes andconducting workshops. His book, Images of theNorthern Catskills, is a celebration of his work. CALEB JACOBUS • SCHOHARIE COUNTYA native of Middleburgh, New York, Caleb Jacobus concentrates on photographingimages taken in the Schoharie Valley and surrounding areas. He likes to photographa variety of weather conditions, creating an intimate connection between the viewersof his work and the beauty surrounding us.DAVID J. TURAN • DELAWARE COUNTYCombining a lifelong passion for art with a love of natural beauty,David Turan is well-suited to share his vision as an exhibitor andteacher. His credentials as a photographer and painter have includedsolo exhibitions at National Bank of Delaware County Delhi, Cross-roads Cafe in Delhi, and Five Star Subaru in Oneonta, group show ap-pearances at MURAL, West Kortright Center, Performance Plus–Art 4All, Roxbury Arts Group, and Picnic. David’s work has been chosen forpublication in Kaatskill Life Magazine, Cornell Small Farms Quarterly,Catskill Outdoor Guide, and Catskill Food Guide. He has also taken 2ndand 3rd place awards in the Watershed Post Photo Contest.Located at 122 Stryker RoadGilboa, New York 12076Memorial Weekend to Columbus Day WeekendSaturdays & Sundays 12-4:30pmOpen House, June 1st, 2-4pm

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The Tri-County Beauty PhotographyExhibit opened on Memorial Day weekendat the Gilboa Museum and Nicholas J.Juried History Center and will be ondisplay until Columbus Day weekend. Thisexhibit brings together the work of naturephotographers from three adjacentcounties in the Catskill Mountains – CalebJacobus of Schoharie County, David J.Turan of Delaware County, and Francis X.Driscoll of Greene County. Jacobus began photographing naturefive years ago using a simple point-and-shoot camera, but his love for the outdoorshas turned this past-time into a passion andhis portfolio now features professionalwork that shows an artist’s eye forcapturing the most unique shots ofSchoharie Valley and its environs. His workhas been in numerous publications,including Times Journal Travelogue, CatskillMountainkeeper, and The Mountain Eagle.Local Schoharie Valley residents haverecognized his ability to utilizephotography to heighten their awarenessof the natural world. Jacobus says, “My goal as an artist is tocreate an intimate connection with thebeauty that surrounds us and the manypeople who follow my work. I try to invokea sense of calm with most of my images,and I always get close up and close to theground when I’m shooting. It’s my favoritepoint of view because it puts the viewerright there with me, close to the earth.”David J. Turan works in a variety ofartistic mediums, including painting,photography, theater, digital imagery, andpoetry. Being the General Manager of theWest Kortright Center and a co-founder ofthe Michael Kudish Natural HistoryPreserve, Turan is regularly involved in thehistory and art of the Catskill Mountainregion. His photography reveals an eyeattuned to his natural surroundings and hasgarnered him many solo exhibitions,publications, and 2ndand 3rdplaceprizes in the Watershed Post PhotoContest. Turan’s desire is to utilize art to capturethe vibrant life of the Catskills. Talkingabout subjects that fascinate him, he says,“I am inspired by the diversity of the naturalbeauty around me, from the critters in myown barnyard to the sweeping vistas of asetting sun on a dirt road in EastMeredith.” Francis X. Driscoll is an award winningnature photographer whose work hasappeared in many publications, includingNational Geographic Explorer andCynthia Dantzic’s 100 New YorkPhotographers. His process involves totalimmersion in a setting so that he mightcapture that rare glimpse to share withothers, and his best shots sometimesinvolve years of returning to the sameplace with a sense of expectation for thebeauty he might find there on any givenday. He shares his craft with others byleading hikes, conducting workshops andgiving private instruction.Driscoll says, “I tell any student I workwith that one of the great keys to naturephotography is to get out there as often aspossible and experience the changes inlighting, weather, and seasons. That wayyou know what to look for and how to huntdown those great shots. I also stress that inthe digital age they should never pass upwhat they think might be a good shotbecause they can always discard it later,but they might never get it back. I remindthem that 100% of the photos they don’ttake will definitely not come out well.”All three of these photographersdemonstrate an eye for both expansiveand immersive scenes in the natural world,which makes them uniquely suited todocument the beauty of the Catskills. A visitto this exhibit provides a visual experiencereminiscent of a long hike through thevaried terrain of this region. At onemoment, the dense forest envelops with itslush green, wild flowers, trickling brooks,and racing falls. At another moment, thevista opens up to reveal a breathtakingskyline. Small farms with hay bales andweathered outbuildings offer a glimpse ofhistory and, at the same time, a way of lifethat endures to this day. The splendor of this exhibit lies in itsability to show the vastness of the beauty ofthe Catskills. Viewing photography fromthree different counties at the heart of thisregion helps one to realize the abundantand diverse nature of our uniquelandscape. Visitors from outside the regionwill gain perspective that only a life livedhere and dedicated to observing theenvironment would offer. And residents willreturn to their respective corners of theCatskills with renewed appreciation fornature and a determination to experienceits beauty with greater devotion.57Francis Driscoll, Caleb Jacobus, and David Turan

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58above and far right: Bob Wyer,Delhi photographer, January 1960.right: Billie Wyer, January 1960,Bob’s wife who was instrumental in prompting the Wyer postcardbusiness.Bob Wyer, PhotographerGlimpses Into Life, The Rare, The Beautiful & The Ordinary

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The Delaware County HistoricalAssociation (DCHA) in Delhi is cur-rently exhibiting a number of imagesfrom well-known Catskills photogra-pher, Bob Wyer. Wyer’s careerspanned the decades between1938 and 1978, covering a varietyof topics ranging from weddingsand graduations to crime scenesand car accidents. The exhibit fea-tures a selection of never-before-seenimages from the DCHA archives.The exhibit will remain on view untilSeptember 15, 2019; Tuesdaysthrough Sundays, 11am – 4 pm.Free admission.Bob Wyer and his wife Billieretired in 1979 and in 1980 donat-ed an archive of more than150,000 negatives to the DCHA.Billie Wyer died in 1981 and Bobthe following year. Fortunately, BillieWyer had created and maintained ahandwritten card index for the thou-sands of photographs taken by herhusband over the course of hiscareer, something that has been cru-cial in accurately cataloging andorganizing the collection. Over aperiod of approximately two years adedicated volunteer spent hundredsof hours compiling the index into adigital database. The collectionspans the years of Wyer’s profes-sional life as a photographer, 1938– 1978. Under the direction ofarchivist Ray LaFever, DCHA beganactively scanning the negatives inthe Wyer collection in 2012 afterthe donation of a flat-bed scanner.Additionally, DCHA recently part-nered with Hancock-based filmmak-er, Arthur Pierson, to create a docu-mentary on Bob Wyer’s photogra-phy. The film, Bob Wyer: CatskillsPhotographer premiered on May25, 2019. Produced and directedby Samantha Misa, the film includesan original soundtrack created byBrittany Elliot. The film includes anumber of interviews with individualswho knew Bob Wyer and fondlyremember the local photographerwho was “always a gentleman.”The film will be shown again atDCHA on September 14 at 7pmand at Cannon Library in Delhi onAugust 27 at 6:30pm. Other datesand locations will be announcedthroughout 2019. The film will alsobe available for sale on DVD bymid-June. Contact DCHA to pur-chase a copy. $16.DCHA is located at 46549 StateHwy. 10, Delhi, NY 13753. Tel: 607-746-3849; email: dcha@delhi .net;web: www.dcha-ny.org.59left: Bob Wyer’s car with a platformhe built to mount his photocraphicequiptment and take pictures.

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Worker pouring powder milk, Meridale Dairies, February 1941.60

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61State Police attempt to calm tensions during Milk Strike, August 1939.

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62Handcuffed wife murderer, Leroy Luscomb, with victim, Ella Luscomb, on bed behind, Town of Hancock, April1943.Luscomb would eventually be sentenced to a lengthy prison term for the murder of his wife.

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63In January 1940, Wyer documented the aftermathof the murder of the Frank Teed family by their hiredhand, James Fink, in the Town of Masonville. Wyerwas present to photograph the arraignment inSidney of Fink and Aubrey Scrum, the friend who ranaway with him after the crime. On January 14, 1940, James Fink, after havingbeen teased by Frank Teed about losing a cardgame with the family, lost his temper and struck Teedwith a hammer as they were starting to do their after-noon chores. Thinking he had killed Mr. Teed, Finkpanicked and went into the house to get a shotgun.He killed Mrs. Teed as she was taking a nap, thenchased down Ruth, age 27, to kill her. Before hecould do that, he saw that Frank Teed had come toand was coming after him with an ax. Fink killed himas he entered the house and then ran outside to trackdown Ruth and kill her in the orchard. He broughther body back into the house and then went on todo his chores. Leaving the farm in Ruth Teed's car, heconnected up with his friend, Aubrey Scrum, inAubrey Scrum and James Fink, 1940Deposit. At some point he told Scrum what he haddone. Scrum suggested burning the house, so Finkwent back to the scene early the next day andburned down the Teed house before heading offwith Scrum. They were caught the next day inReading, Pennsylvania.Originally pleading 'not guilty' to first-degreemurder Fink was examined by an 'alienist,' a doctorspecializing in mental health. He determined thatFink, probably due to a childhood brain injury, hadthe IQ of a 10 year old. In February, Fink changedhis plea and pled guilty to second-degree murder.He was sentenced to 70 years in Attica. Scrum wasultimately exonerated of any involvement in the mur-der, spending a year at a reformatory for hisinvolvement in suggesting the arson. Fink spent 32years in Attica. He unsuccessfully tried to get thesentenced reduced in 1968, but he was paroled in1972 after having saved the life of a prison guardduring the Attica riots in September 1971. He diedin 2005. Scrum died in 2006.

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64Main Street, Deposit on August 10, 1948.

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65O&W train derailment near Hamden,March 9, 1950.

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DCHA was packed at the first of two premier showings of thefilm, Bob Wyer, Catskills Photographer, a documentary by filmmaker Arthur W. Pierson produced and directed by Samantha Misa.Here are a few pictures of people attending the premier.66Bob Wyer, CatskillsPhotographerright:DCHA Director Tim Duerden introduces the film makers and director. below:“The Team”, poses in berets mimicking Bob Wyer’s style. Left to right are: Samantha Misa, Arthur W. Pierson, Alvina Tetter, RoyScrimshaw, Hilda Turner and Tim Duerden.CD available now at DCHA and online. www.dcha-ny.org

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below:Featured in the documentary,Alvina Tetter ,secretary to the Wyers.Right top, Delhi insurance man, DonBramley, fondly remembered BobWyer. Right below, Gary Manning,told of creating the “sleeping hunterpostcard” with Bob. 67right:Arthur W. Pierson, ofHancock.below:Samantha Misa was honoredwith flowers.

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            COOPERJuly 201 Th rain to Cooperstown De TOne Roundtrip 166), Milford, NAt Cooperstow rains Stop T   UMMERSOWNSTAugust 4 and Septembe 7 IARTRALUGER9 August hursdays, June 7 – The Milford eparting From at 10AM, Returning to Milford NY Y at 10AM, Returning to Milford wn Dreams Park at 10:35A   RAINSTR er 1SNI 30 d Depot, 136 East Main Street (NYS Rte At 1PM Milford AM returning at 12:35PM   August 4 and September 1.July 7, rolley Parking Lot. 1PM and 2:30PMTBoards at Cooperstown Blue XPRESSEBLUESOWNCOOPERST Blues Party every Saturday night featuring Saturday Nights, May 18 – October 5 at 7PM. 3 Hour Rockin’. Riders can enjoy food and drink. Full cash bar with beer and wines. some of the best bands in upstate N.Y Y. Riders can enjoy food and drink. Full cash bar with beer and wines. SNIARTRT ESSEDAugust 1, 15 & 29; 7PMJuly 4 & 18, RAINSTFOLIAGEALLF1AM & 2PMrains. 1TSeptember 28, 29 October 5, 6 & 13, October 14; Fall Foliage TRAINSENTVEIALCSPEessxprEayo Me DCinco - May 4 @ 1PMobberiesRrain T August 3, 17,31, September 21, October 12. - June 29, July 20, rain Tarty PHalloween Costume - October 19; 7PMnniversary Celebration - A 150th CVV 150th AC July 13 & 14rainTTrainess xprEinosaurD - May 25 @ 1PMrainTatch Pumpkin P - October 19 & 20 @ 1PMessxprEanta S - November 29, 30, December 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21 & 22 @ 1PMessxprEole Porth N - December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 & 21 @ 6:30PMPRFVVKUOOU##O\GG\QHZOLDP(PPRFVVKUOOUZZZZEH::HHF¿II¿22IAdults: $17.00, Seniors(62 and up): $16.00, Children (3-12): $14.00, Under 3 FREERegular Fares: rain Robberies, Special Event & Special Trains EXCEPTTAll Special Event Are Required On Reservations & Prepayment Than Standard Fare. rains Priced Higher TService

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Sometimes, in science, the hardestthing to do Is to find a problem thatneeds to be solved, or a questionthat needs to be answered. We dothat four times per year, and that’sjust for this magazine. It’s is notalways easy. For years we had aninteresting problem, lying just outsideof the Visitor’s Center at theMountaintop Historical Society inHaines Falls. We man the desk thereon many Sunday mornings duringthe summer. There is a broad plot ofland that surrounds the center and itis dotted with large boulders thatpoke out of the ground at all sorts ofstrange angles, many very steeply.They rise to surprising heights aswell. See our figures 1 and 2.KaatskillGeologistStanding Stones of the Eastern Catskills (And steeply inclined ones too)Robert and Johanna Titus, photography by Robert Titus70

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It wasn’t until we focused ourattentions on another large rock thatwas in nearby Stony Clove (fig.3),that we started doing some seriousgeological thinking about them. Thatrock has a name; it is called theDevil’s Tombstone (fig. 4). Have youever seen it? It’s found just south ofthe pond which, in turn, is just southof the Clove itself. It’s a most remark-able boulder. It is very large, and,with its rectangular shape, it doeslook like a tombstone. We had longago heard that the Tombstone hadbeen hoisted into its nearly verticalinclination by a little understood pre-historic culture. This, it has beenargued, was probably for astronomi-cal reasons. Let’s call this the ‘stonemonolith hypothesis’ for its origin. Iftrue, that made the Devil’s Tombstonean archaeological site, so we nevergave it much thought. The rock is cer-tainly just a glacial erratic and, ifsomebody had wanted to lift it up,well that was not a geological event,so what did we care?But, after taking the Stony Cloveboulder seriously, we began to thinkmore and more about those erraticsat the Mountain Top HistoricalSociety. Was there a natural processthat might have lifted up all of theserocks? Now we were outside ofarchaeology and had a genuine geo-logic question that needed solving,and we absolutely could not resistgiving it a try. That took us back tothe Visitor’s Center. We lookedaround and found quite a few moreof those erratics. We counted about15 of them and determined that theywere tilted in all sorts of angles ran-domly scattered from zero to 90degrees. We were becoming veryinterested in these boulders. The verti-cal ones, such as at Stony Clove,were special; they are called ‘stand-ing stones.’ But all of them deservedattention; that’s how science works.71You would think that, as geolo-gists, we would have started to askquestions about them many yearsago, but we really didn’t give themmuch thought. We rather dismissedthem as just being typical Catskillsboulders. That made them glacialerratics, just big rocks left behind bymelting ice at the end of the Ice Age,nothing of particular importance.opposite page, fig 1: Inclined boul-der in back of Visitor’s Center.above: fig 2: Two more steeplyinclined boulders across the highwayfrom the Visitor’s Center.

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What could have explained them?We had the stone monolith hypothe-sis, but that only applied to verticalstones. We thought there must beother explanations, broader hypothe-ses that explained all of them, notjust the vertical ones. The Ice Age,we thought, might provide an expla-nation. We needed to learn more.We searched the literature and werenot surprised to find the New YorkState Geological Survey had pub-lished some interesting clues. In1935 a glacial geologist namedJohn Lyon Rich had mapped theHaines Falls vicinity as being blan-keted in the coarse-grained sedi-ments of something called glacialmoraines (fig. 5). A moraine is aheap of mixed sediment, much of itboulders, that had been bulldozedforward by an advancing glacierand then left behind when the icemelted. John Lyon Rich’s glacier hadrisen up out of the Hudson Valley; ithad passed through Kaaterskill Cloveand overrun the Haines Falls vicinity.When it melted, it left behind thosemoraines with their erratic boulders.Rich had found moraine materialsall around Haines Falls, whichincluded the Historical Societygrounds and that confirmed our ini-tial explanation about how thosesteeply inclined boulders got towhere we found them. You see, amelting glacier will leave large errat-ics behind, buried in moraine sedi-ments. A typical large boulder will,more likely than not, lie flat on theground, but one buried in morainescan be at any angle. That’s what wehad found at the Mountain Top.Now we had a good understand-ing of the Mountain Top boulders,but we were left thinking about theDevil’s Tombstone. There was no rea-son why an occasional erratic shouldnot be vertically inclined, but that stillbothered us. Remember, it had beenhypothesized that people had hoist-ed the boulder into its inclination.Furthermore, it has been reportedthat it is oriented at a compass direc-tion that has it facing both the springand winter solstices. That’s either aremarkable coincidence or evidenceof human intervention. If glacial inorigin, then this is just an interestingerratic; if human then indeed itshould be called a stone monolith.Which was it?We took another look at John LyonRich’s map and found that he hadidentified Stony Clove as a locationwhere another glacier had flowed.That ice had branched off of theSchoharie Creek glacier and flowedsouth through Stony Clove. Here Richhad determined it had left a moraine,just south of the clove (fig. 6). Wehad the makings of an alternative72fig 3: Stony Clove with pond, looking north.

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hypothesis to the human stone mono-lith idea. Could we document theerratic hypothesis for the Devil’sTombstone?We went searching and we foundthe moraine. It consisted of a heap ofvery coarse-grained, boulder-richsediment, a classic moraine (fig.7),just a bit up valley from theTombstone. The erratic hypothesiswas, it seemed, falling into place.But, still, we thought that this ideaneeded some more work. We werebothered that the Tombstone stoodalone, without any moraine materialimmediately around it.A good scientific hypothesisshould generate what are sometimescalled if/then statements. If the errat-ic hypothesis is correct, then some-where there should be other verticalerratics, and it would help if theywere surrounded by at least somemoraine sediments. Where was thatsomewhere?Once again, off we went search-ing. And we found just what wehoped for in the town of Windham.Just west of the firehouse on Rte. 23,was a boulder called Cabin Rock(fig. 8). It, like the Devil’s Tombstone,is a big slab of sandstone, risingalmost vertically out of the ground.But, critically, this one is still at leastpartially buried in moraine. Thatmeans it could not have been hoistedinto place by humans. After all, theywould hardly bother reburying someof it, would they?The same advance of the ice thathad created moraines in Haines Fallsand Stony Clove had also affectedWindham. Ice had risen out of theHudson Valley and swept westwarddown the Batavia Kill Valley andthrough Windham. When it meltedaway, it left Cabin Rock behind. Inrecent centuries most but not all ofthat rock has been uncovered. Ourstory got better when we foundanother vertical, unnamed, erraticalong the highway a little farther tothe west on Rte. 23. Our glacial erratic hypothesis hadbeen holding its own. Two sizableglaciers had risen out of the HudsonValley and passed westward throughthe upper reaches of the Batavia Killand Schoharie Creek Valleys. Onebranch of this ice had peeled off and73fig 4: The Devil’s Tombstone.

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passed southward through StonyClove. As all this voluminous iceeventually melted back it leftmoraines behind and, in thosemoraines, were occasional standingstones, along with a lot of steeplyinclined stones. We had a plausiblesolution to the standing stone prob-lem, and it went on to explain manymore boulders: the steeply inclinedones as well. All of these were natu-ral in origin, none of them seemed tobe the products of human efforts.But all that posed other problems.The Devil’s Tombstone has long beenargued, not only as human in its pres-ent configuration but it has beenthought to be an integral part of alarger prehistoric artifact. The Devil’sTombstone had been thought to bean important structure along some-thing called the Hammonasset Line.74above, fig. 5: Moraine sediment inHaines Falls vicinity (above TwilightPark, outlined in black).opposite page, fig. 6: Stony Clovewith moraine (brown) just south ofStony Clove.

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So, what is established scientifictheory and what is hypothesis? Thenotion that boulders such as all ofthese, are glacial in origin – that theyare erratics – is good, sound, long-accepted scientific theory, but thenotion that the Devil’s Tombstone is acultural artifact is only hypothesis. Itneeds work, archeological work. But science never seeks to prove anegative; thus, we can never actuallyprove the Devil’s Tombstone was not76fig. 7: Boulder-rich moraine south of Stony Clove.This is defined as a long row of‘stone cairns, unusual walls, markingboulders and travel ways.’ All theseare said to be lying along the com-pass direction of that line, beginningon Long Island. And the line isbelieved to be oriented between thesummer and winter solstices.It’s a compelling story, but is ittrue? The Hammonasset Line, stonemonolith hypothesis generates itsown if/then statement. If the Devil’sTombstone was once an importantcultural installation, then there shouldbe an archaeological record therethat would take us back to thosetimes. And quite possibly a veryextensive archaeology; peoplewould not have devoted a lot of timeand effort here without leaving arti-facts. If there is no such archaeologi-cal record, then the ice age hypothe-sis is to be preferred. We know of nosuch archaeology.

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hoisted into place. So, we still dohave a problem. Fortunately there isanother approach to this sort of deci-sion making. When scientists arepresented with two competinghypotheses, each of which explainsthe problem, then they typicallyemploy something called the ‘princi-ple of parsimony.’ That principlestates that when there are two com-peting hypotheses that each explaina problem, then the one which is sim-pler is far more likely to be true.The monolith hypothesis for Devil’sTombstone requires the past presenceof a now extinct Stone Age culturewhich occupied the site without leav-ing an archaeological record. That’sunlikely. The erratic hypothesis statesthat there are many glacial erraticsthroughout these vicinities. A few ofthose are vertical. There is no awk-ward prehistoric culture needed, justthe occasional happenstance of a bitof unusual gravity along the front of aretreating glacier. Parsimony verymuch prefers the erratic hypothesis!And so do we. We have longbeen skeptical of the monolithhypothesis as are most, if not all, pro-fessional archaeologists. On thataccount, our hypothesis that theDevil’s Tombstone is glacial in originis damaging, to say the least, to themonolith as well as theHammonasset Line hypotheses.Contact the authors at randjtitus@prodigy.net. Join theirfacebook page ‘The CatskillGeologist.’ Read their blogs at ‘thecatskillgeologist.com.’77fig. 8:Cabin Rock.

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Some trees I have become more orless fond of over time due to personalreasons. For instance, white pine’smagnificently towering ship-mast traitsmake it stand out in a field or forestsetting. However, removing this sametree near someone’s home doescause some anxiety due its abundantsticky sap and unpredictably brittlewood. After monkeying around insuch a tree over the years, I havegrown bitter at th is tree’s ability tosap-up my climbing line and clog mynicely clean chainsaw with stickychips and sawdust; No tree’s perfect.Ornamental crabapple is another Ihave issues with. In comparison totrue apple trees, crabapples containtiny branches with spur-like qualitiesthat grab and hold the unwanted treepruner from navigating the tree’s innercanopy. The branches once prunedare easily tangled within th e canopyor on the ground and make movingaway more of a chore. Since itsflower doesn’t lead to edible fruit, myattitude surrounding this tree has onlygrown.78Kaat skil lTreesby Ryan Trapani, Director of Forest Services, CFAphotography by the authorleft & opposite page:Pin oakexhibits a naturally pyramidal formthat is quite attractive once the pin-like branches are removed.

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The Ugly Red OakAnother tree that comes to mind ispin oak (Quercus palustris). Pin oakis a tree that initially I wasn’t fond of,but have instead come to. I used tolook down at pin oak as some sort ofugly red oak. Red oak and pin oakare similar. They share similarheights, topping out at about 70 to100 feet; They both share bristle-tipped oak-like leaves with scarletred foliage in the fall. Although pinoak’s leaves seem to be narrowertowards the mid-rib or more deeply-cut sinuses. Both have acorns thatabundantly feed wildlife; Pin oaksare somewhat smaller and areapparently craved by ducks nearswampy areas. The bark of each issomewhat smooth with shallowridges sometimes showing red inbetween. The wood of red oak andpin oak wood are so similar too thatboth are sold as ‘red oak.’ However, the similarities endthere. Pin oak wood seldom “makesthe grade” since it contains many“pin-like” branches that protrude fromthe main stem or trunk throughout itslife. These pin-like branches addknots to the wood, thus devaluing it.In addition, pin oak becomes infest-ed with these tiny pin-like branches,which die-off in the lower section ofits canopy due to the lack of sunlight.A pin oak can be easily identifiedfrom a distance by the abundance ofthese small dead branches that makethe entire tree seem sicklier than itreally is.I know it sounds like I’m beating upon pin oak, but its “ugly red oak” traitsend there. If its pin-like branches arepruned away, a fairly beautiful redoak can be revealed. Pin oak doeshave some advantages too over redoak, namely in its better form. Red oakis no slouch in this category either, butpin oak normally grows fairly straightwith a naturally occurring pyramidalshape. The lower branches droop, themid branches remain horizontal, andthe upper branches bend upward.Typically, there is one dominantleader in the middle; A treepruner’s ideal tree and ahealthier structure thatleads to longevity.At Home in the CityPin oak’s natu-rally good formand tolerance to awide variety ofsites make it theideal choice forplantings in urban set-tings; It is probably themost planted oak tree in thenortheast. Pin oak – unlike others– can tolerate dry hardpan clay orpoorly drained soils as well. makingit a clear winner in limited spacesbeing crushed by people and pave-ment. Many times, while drivingaround, I’ll notice numerous treeplanting failings by homeowners dueto poor site conditions like hard-panclay; Yet their only tree doing well80

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amongst the herd are the pin oaks.Unlike other oak trees too, it is easierto transplant since it is apparentlyless apt to form a tap root than oth-ers. Think your area is too cold forpin oak? Think again. It is hardy toZone 4 and will do just fine. It alsogrows faster than most other oaktrees as well.If you should plant pin oak, try toplant it far enough away from valu-able structures and property; This treewill reach 70 feet or more. Also, itwill rain down acorns after about age30, so be prepared to clean up ifyou’re not wanting to feed wildlife.Probably the greatest bane to pin oakare those tiny branches; Gloves are amust since they have a way of stab-bing into you. However, once thistree has been cleaned up, it’s quiteattractive. www.catskillforest.orgabove:The bark of pin oak is diffi-cult to discern from that of red oak.opposite page, left & inset:Pin-likebranches protrude from the mainstem or trunk from pin oak.Afterwards, they normally die-offand make the tree seem sicklier thanit really is.81

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by Russ Patton, Jr.photography by the authorright: Cobleskill sturdent, Sara Sawmiller, in TheCarriage House Café.CarriageHouse CaféCarriageHouse Café82

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Dairy farming is often seen as being in decline in upstate New York. However, SUNY Cobleskill is aggressively movingforward with a plan and facilities to train future farmers and entrepreneurs in agriculture and food marketing. SUNYCobleskill sees a bright future for the twenty first century farming and food industry here and this will certainly benefitthe local economy as well. The College has created the Institute for Rural Vitality and its Center for Farm and FoodEntrepreneurship to provide experience for students in both dairy production and retail marketing. Milk is being producedhere in the College’s barn, and dairy product marketing will be done in part through the lovely new Carriage HouseCafé and General Store on the premises.83below: Stars of the show. A line upof cows in the dairy barn.below: The building containing anew dairy processing center.

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“The students that staff it get aca-demic credits, he continued. “TheCafé puts them face to face with thefarm and food business and givesthem a taste of entrepreneurship.”Just up the hill from the Café is theCollege’s dairy barn and the new84The Café is located across Route7 from the main campus just west ofCobleskill. I pulled off of Route 7 onan early spring day and met Dr.Jason Evans, who is the Chair of theDepartment of Agriculture and FoodManagement. We settled into com-fortable chairs in his office and hebegan to tell me about the Center’sprogram.I asked him about the Café and theCarriage House. He told me, “TheCafé is under our Institute for RuralVitality which was founded in 2017.The Institute coordinates local commu-nity advancement and economicdevelopment work utilizing SUNYCobleskill students and the College’ssubstantial resources. Its Center forFarm and Food Entrepreneurship hasbeen designated as a New York Stateincubator for startups and mentoring.It also has on online farmer’s marketwith twenty five local producers calledSchoharie Fresh, which features prod-ucts from local farmers.”“The Café’s purpose is two fold, “Evans continued. “It’s an appliedlearning space for students high-lighting local and campus producedproducts.. It also can be used formarket research and pilot programs.The building was a carriage house inthe 19thcentury and was moved tothe current site in 2013.”I then asked him about the Café’sopening, sales, and outside support.He replied, “Our Grand Opening wasin September of 2018 and the salesand local producer interest have reallyexceeded expectations. We’ve alsoreceived support from New York Stateand from a Federal agency, theAppalachain Regional Commission.”opposite page: Dr. Jason Evans in thenew dairy processing center surround-ed by gleaming new equiptment.below: The building containing anew dairy processing center.

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dairy processing plant. “We beganplanning for the new processingplant in 2011. In 2014 we receiveda gift from Stewart’s Ice Cream, andwe’ve also gotten support fromEmpire State Development,” Dr.Evans said. We soon went up the hill andentered the new processing plantwhich is scheduled to come on linein the summer of 2019. The newbuilding and the stainless steel equip-ment just gleamed. He told me, “Thisprogram and facility will teach allaspects of production technology,from the intake of milk, to sanitation,to producing the final products frommilk, to ice cream, to cheese andothers. However, this plant will onlyintercept about a half day’s produc-tion in a week. We currently haveabout 150 milking cows and most ofthe product from the dairy barn issold through a co-op, the DairyFarmers of America.”Dr. Evans told me that the process-ing plant will start out making milkand some ice cream for the studentdining halls on campus. It is thenhoped that the plant will expand toalso making products for incubatorbusinesses, such as bottled milk,cheeses, and more. He also said thatoverall market demand for milk isdown in the last 20 years, but thatdemand for value added productssuch as yogurt and cheese is up aspart of the local food movement. “Milk is very nutritious and needs tobe marketed as a health drink,” heconcluded. I then went back down the hill tothe Café and entered the brightly lit,very welcoming store. Sara Sawmiller,a Cobleskill student, greeted me witha smile and said that the Café hadbeen quite busy that day. I couldsurely see why, with its well stockedshelves full of local products andespecially those yummy pastries rightat the front!SUNY Cobleskill’s efforts to con-nect the College, its students, andthe community will certainly pay bigdividends in the surrounding area.For more information, go towww.cobleskill.edu/institute/. The Café is open Monday toFriday from 7:30–5PM at 126Schoharie Parkway, Cobleskill NY12043 and can also be reached byphone at 518–255–5566. Let’s stopin and have lunch!Information provided by Dr. JasonEvans and the SUNY CobleskillInstitute’s website.85

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IM A G E SO F T H E N O R T H E R N C AT S K I L L SFine landscape photography by Francis X. Driscollwww.francisxdriscoll.comPhone: 518-734-5192Tannersville Antiques & Artisan Center6045 Main Street, Tannersville for more information, 518-589-5600A new book by Francis X. Driscoll –The Great Northern Catskills –Our Back Yard – book available late 2019.

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