Dear Friend,
The past year has been an exciting and difficult time in the Hudson Highlands. Exciting because we’ve had much to celebrate. Difficult because the economy has forced tough choices on everyone.
At PCHS, our response has been to embrace the spirit of Henry Hudson and Robert Fulton – pioneers whose achievements were marked with quadricentennial and bicentennial celebrations this year – and find ways to do more with less.
We’ve done more with exhibitions, highlighting the Hudson-Fulton celebrations with two outstanding presentations. Our award-winning exhibition and catalogue, George Pope Morris: Defining American Culture, explored the life of one of 19th Century America’s – and Philipstown’s – most influential cultural figures. Traveling the Hudson in the Wake of Robert Fulton: 1,000 Postcards of America's First Working River, features historic images of the river and its environs from New York Harbor to the headwaters north of Albany.
We’ve done more with programming, welcoming hundreds of guests to our wildly popular quadricentennial lecture series. A diverse range of topics have included slavery in the Hudson River Valley, local Revolutionary war history, and Dutch colonial food customs.
We’ve done more with events, hosting record numbers at our Happy Campers on the Hudson lawn party and our Gala Celebration of Family and Place. Our thriving Young Associates program attracts scores of young people to socialize and learn about historical topics, including documentary film making, historic homes including Mandeville House, and the history of whiskey in the Hudson River Valley.
To seize this historical moment – to do more with less – we have relied on several factors. These include an increased number of volunteer and docent hours, our own fiscal discipline, and your continued financial support.
Now we turn to you for our annual appeal. Help make our 2010 plans a reality: re-establish the Foundry Classroom as we expand our programs with the Philipstown schools; define the history of local business through a ground-breaking 2010 exhibit; continue our wildly successful lecture series; introduce a Philipstown welcome-wagon for new residents; and open up PCHS East at Tilly Foster Farm in Brewster.
This year, please consider "doing more" with your donation to PCHS. Together, we seized the opportunity of the Hudson-Fulton anniversaries. Let’s build on that momentum in 2010. Please make a donation in support of the history we share.
Sincerely,
Mindy Krazmien
Executive Director
Neal Zuckerman
President, Board of Trustees
Yes! I / we want to make a gift in support of the PCHS-FSM and its collections, staff and programs.
To Donate |
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By Phone: 845-265-4010, Tuesday through Friday, 10 to 5.
By Mail: Please send a check to:
Putnam County Historical Society
& Foundry School Museum
63 Chestnut Street
Cold Spring, NY 10516