April 2012
(part of subscribed newsletter, not here): Rainbow article, Dorpfeld article

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Happy Start-of-New GLHG Year!

As has happened almost all of 2012, nice weather greeted those coming for the opening share session: David and Judy Rundell, Walter & Donna Ingalls, Ron Golden, Phyllis Beechert, Dot Blenis, and Don Teator.

A spurt of small topics arose.

Obviously, moderate weather that few old-timers can recall was revisited. And the capriciousness of precipitation was noted, from last year’s floods and overabundance to this year’s near drought (until that drenching in mid-late April).

We noted the newspaper account of the Eagle Scout project of building a split rail fence by the K of C building in East Durham , and the objection placed by NYSDOT.

Of course, the media blitz of the centennial of the Titanic’s sinking cannot be missed.

The Glenn murder case article in a recent Pioneer was mentioned.

Walter told the story of a taxi driver (or, bus driver?) who would lift the steering wheel off the column during a ride, raising some consternation among the passengers!

The Eagle Scout project by James DiDonato for the Prevost Cemetery on Maple Avenue was reviewed and found worthy.

Then, we got to the serious stuff. Arlene Brown had given Don a bag of newspapers that spread over the last several decades – fun to look at, and I kept a few for my files.

The other Brown material was a brief loan of a register book kept by Lee’s mother while Balsam Shade Retreat (original name) was operating. Listed are all the guests starting in 1901 and ending, in this book, in 1937. A few comments were made on the side, some contemporary and some made several decades later. Thank you, Arlene and Lee, for the loan, and for sharing such an artifact. I have made copies of some pages to be placed in the boarding house files.

Phyllis turned over a sheaf of flyers: Sept 25, 2011 Organ Fundraiser for the Episcopal Church; invitation to Tucker Lewis’ Eagle Scout ceremony; Oct 1, 2011 Greenville Day; several clippings and photos about the food pantry; Nov 21, 2011 Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service; Sep 11, 2011 10th Year Remembrance; Nov 11, 2011 Veteran’s Day in Greenville; and one or two more. Thank you, Phyllis, for these “small” items that document the customs and rituals of Greenville .

The big item of the night was Don’s unveiling of his inventory of the Historian’s files, a project that started last year and is nearly done. Every piece of paper in every folder in every box was catalogued, re-organized if needed, and the results are in a computer file, one that you can soon access on my web site (ready for next month, I think).

So, for those present, Don presented the files on the projector, going through each of the categories, and ‘sorta’ speeding through some of the forty-five pages of listings. When it is online, feel free to browse.

Normally, to access any of the files, you need to contact me, or contact the library who will allow access. Of course, the concern of theft is always present and, so far, Barbara Flach has coordinated well as to who is accessing the files.

Preceding this inventory was the presentation of the room map of the Historian’s room, and then a wall map for each of the four “walls.” Copied for this newsletter is the overall map and one wall map (the wall closest to the pond).

Our next meeting will be a rare adventure away from our usual meeting spot. Instead, the meeting will begin the usual time ( 7:30 pm ) but will take place at Sunny Hill Resort, at the Casino (their rec hall), next to which is plenty of parking.

The topic is the 20th century boarding house / resort era and its distinctive architectural and land-use foot print throughout modern day Greenville and the surrounding area. The Nicholsens have graciously allowed us to use Sunny Hill not only as our meeting place but also as an example of the farmhouse to modern resort progression, a progression that fewer than a handful of all the past businesses currently manage.

We will look over the photos they have on their casino wall, listen to one (or more) of the Nicholsens talk about the history of the resort, from the early days through Arnold ’s time and now with Gary, Wayne and Gail.

I will give a brief overview of my boarding house project, using Sunny Hill as our prime example. A fuller meeting about my project will happen later in the year.

Looking ahead:

Professor Robert Titus, who has kindly given a couple geology lectures for GLHG in the past, will be the program in June, speaking about the 2011 Hurricanes, the flooding, and the why the flooding happened. This program will also be a fundraiser, probably for the Pratt Museum . More details in the next newsletter.

Also copied:

Past clippings, one of which is about Rainbow Golf Course, with a bunch of history hard to find elsewhere.

And a David Dorpfeld piece about turnpikes. (thanks, Dave, for your weekly tradition!)

I hope to see you at Sunny Hill.

Take care,
Don