meetings

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March 20, 2018: First meeting of the year

Please join us for our first general meeting this year on Tuesday, March 21st, 2017 at 7 pm.

Our current monthly meeting schedule for 2018 is available here.

Please also mark your calendar for the Edinburg Fall Festival (Saturday, September 29, 2018).

We will not be having an Historic “Edinburgh” Day in July.

The society mourns the loss of long-time member Fred Brownell (Mar 19, 1937 – Dec 24, 2017). Fred filled the Nellie Tyrrell museum with stories of the past at all our events. He will be greatly missed. We will have more about his life and legacy future posts.

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“Pie and Reminiscence”

pecan-pieThe Edinburg Historical Society will hold its annual Pie and Reminiscence meeting on Tuesday, November 21, 7 p.m. at the Edinburg Community Center on Military Road. A social hour will follow with pie and coffee.

At the October meeting George Blackwood was elected President, Maria Spaeth Vice-President and Andrea Blackwood was elected to fill in George’s unexpired term as Trustee.

 

Roger Hoff has donated a 1916, 16 foot H. W. Model Canoe now on display at the Rural Museum. The canoe was built by the Old Town Canoe Company. This canoe was built for cruising, carrying heavy loads and for use on large rivers, lakes, large ponds and salt water. Planking and ribs are made from cedar; gunwales and finish rails are of spruce; stems are ash; decks, thwarts and seat are made from of oak, birch or ash; bang plates of polished brass and fastenings throughout are made of brass and copper. When purchased in 1916 it cost $34.00.

 

New Sign for Copeland Site

The deteriorating sign with the names of shareholders has been removed from the Copeland Site and a new sign will be erected in the spring.  A share in the Copeland Covered Bridge was purchased by Linda and Richard Ege. Linda has joined EHS and taken on the job of updating our website. Shares in the bridge help EHS raise funds for maintenance of the Copeland Historic Site. Information on purchasing a share is available on our website.

 

Fall Festival Update

What a wonderful turnout from the local community who braved the cold to attend the Edinburg Fall Festival. Thanks go to our members and locals who contributed the soups, chili and bake sale treats. Mickey Ballard of Eden Gomora Catering contributed two pots of chicken corn chowder and Jackie Nichols of Shelby’s Four Corner Diner donated a batch of chili. Denise and Joel Ferguson of J & D Percherons gave free horse drawn carriage rides. Alice Frasier donated eight beautiful quilts for the merchandise table. Constance Dodge of Dodge House Lakeside Gallery donated cards with copies of her original paintings of old Edinburg photographs. Thanks to everyone for their participation and donations.

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History of the Town of Day

4266558On Tuesday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m the Edinburg Historical Society will hold its monthly meeting at the Edinburg Community Center on Military Road. Dave Davidson, Town of Day Historian, will talk on the town’s history.

Day is a beautiful scenic town bordered by Edinburg, Hadley and Corinth. The Sacandaga enters the town of Day at its southwest corner, and flows in a northeast by east course across it. The Kayadrossera range of mountains are in the southern part of the town, and north of the river there are high hills. There are three small lakes, Mud, Sand, and Livingston. Oak and Bald mountains reach an elevation of nine hundred feet above the river. Rockwell’s mountain, near Day Centre, is a stony elevation of some seven hundred feet, and affords a lovely view up the valley. From the hills back of Huntsville a beautiful view of the valley, the Mayfield Mountains, and the distant Catskills can be seen, and from other hills the Green mountains of Vermont show plainly in clear weather.

copeland-covered-bridge-edinburg-ny-ray-summers-photographyBuy a share in the Copeland Covered Bridge to memorialize a loved one. Shares have been purchased by Joey and Maureen Raiola in memory of Rob Selfridge and by Rosemary Miller and Valerie Kaye in memory of their brother John E. Kaczmarczyle who died in 1965 at age 17. A donation was received from Carol J. Fortin to help EHS restore and maintain the bridge. Shares may be purchased for $25 for yourself, as a gift, or in honor of a loved one. A certificate is sent to the recipient and the name is posted at the Copeland Site. Send your request to the Edinburg Historical Society, P.O. Box 801, Edinburg, NY 12134. Forms are available on our website.

 

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August 15, 2017: Edinburg Hill Cemetery trip

The Edinburg Historical Society will meet on Tuesday, August 15 at 7 p.m. at the Edinburg Hill Cemetery on Military Road.

Edinburg Historian Priscilla Edwards said the first settlers arrived in Edinburg in the late 1780s and naturally discovered the need for cemeteries even before schools. Some of the earliest burials were established on a family’s own farm while in other instances a landowner would set aside a sandy plot of land for a community cemetery. The landowner would sell off burial plots to his neighbors as needed – making extra money to supplement his income. The first recorded burial in the Edinburg Hill Cemetery was in 1802 Little Alfred Perry, two or three years old, son of James Perry.

Military veterans are scattered throughout our cemeteries. Each cemetery has graves only identified by field stones. You can only guess who these people were and when they died. Field stones were used when families could not afford a regular cemetery marker or if there were no family members left to mark the site.

Following the tour of the Edinburg Hill Cemetery members will congregate at the Edinburg Community Center for a meeting and refreshments.

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June 20, 2017: Jason Kemper on the Great Sacandaga Lake Advisory Council and its upcoming film

Please join us on June 20, 2017 to hear Jason Kemper of the Great Sacandaga Lake Advisory Council (GSLAC) speak about the Council and the progress of the film on the creation of the lake. 

Local historians are making a documentary film about the early history of the human-made Great Sacandaga Lake and the effect the lake had on property owners displaced through its creation decades ago. The Great Sacandaga Lake Advisory Council in May 2016 allocated $60,000 for the 54-minute film.  Jason is the film project manager. “We have a unique opportunity to document the creation of the reservoir,” Jason said.

Jason resides in the Town of Edinburg and is currently Director of Planning for Saratoga County. Prior employment includes Director of Planning for the Town of Clifton Park, Environmental Specialist for the Town of Clifton Park, NYS Emergency Management Office and the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District. Mr. Kemper participates in the Saratoga County fish stocking program and is involved with the Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation and their activities on the Sacandaga. He received a B.A. in Environmental Science from SUNY Plattsburgh and a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from SUNY Albany with a Certificate in GIS Applications. He is currently chairman of  the NYS Conservation Fund Advisory Board.

Thank you to everyone who made our potluck dinner at our last meeting such a success! A special big thanks to Claudette Koza for organizing it. Our next potluck will be at our September meeting.

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April 18, 2017: André Garand on “Restoration of Old Buildings”

André Garand, Master Carpenter, will speak on “Restoration of Old Buildings” at our next monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at 7:00 p.m at the Edinburg Community Center. Beyond André’s work on historical structures elsewhere, Edinburg has been so fortunate to have André around to repair and restore the Nellie Tyrrell museum, the Copeland Covered Bridge, the Copeland Carriage Shop, and the Rural Museum. André has also helped the Society in other ways, like by restoring our treadle-powered scroll saw and teaching a new generation how to use it.

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March 21, 2017: First meeting of the year

Please join us for our first general meeting this year on Tuesday, March 21st, 2017 at 7 pm.

Last November, we had fun sharing stories over pies and other seasonal treats at our meeting of “Pies & Reminiscences” as well as discussing many exciting new project ideas for this year made possible by the Hayden Trust.

Our current monthly meeting schedule for 2017 is available here.

Please also mark your calendar for Historic “Edinburgh” Day (Saturday, July 15, 2017) and the Edinburg Fall Festival (Saturday, September 30, 2017).