2010 Annual Appeal

Dear Friend,

For over 100 years, the Putnam County Historical Society & Foundry School Museum (PCHS) has preserved the history of our community. To continue this work, we turn to you once again for our annual appeal. Our town funding has been cut 80% over the last three years. Donations from individuals contribute over two thirds of our budget. As government support weakens, your contribution is ever more essential.

A big part of our work is putting local history on display. This year, Seasons and Light: Photographs of the Hudson Highlands by Richard Saunders featured breathtaking panoramas of local landscapes by a Nelsonville photographer previously known to many only as Linda Mason. Our current exhibition, Making a Living: Businesses in Philipstown and Beyond, 1850–1970, explores the history of our local businesses and the families who built them, from mining in Manitou to the lost stores of Main Street to the beloved country store at Garrison’s Landing. Many of the photographs, postcards, and objects on display were culled from local private collections. Taken together, they provide a window into our past and insight into the families and businesses who continue to be active in the community to this day.

Education programs and special events are another manifestation of our mission. The hundreds of guests who attended our 2010 lectures learned new historical perspectives from professors at NYU, Bard, and USMA while enjoying the company of a vibrant community of intellectually curious, historically minded members. Hundreds more have attended our special events, which provide a unique opportunity to visit historical locations (such as a private home at Garrison’s Landing and the Gipsy Trail Club in Carmel), and celebrate the contributions of local community members such as Janet Rust, Don Nice, and the Polhemus family.

Our plans for 2011 are bold. In late winter, we will open a new location in Brewster, a ground-breaking initiative that will bring our local history to eastern Putnam for the first time. In early summer, we hope to open a sequel to our blockbuster historical clothing exhibition in 2006 in the form of the major exhibition and catalogue, Summer Afternoon: A Century of Fashion, 1850 –1950. Over fifty garments and accessories will tell the story of social and cultural change during the course of a century. Photographs and documents from the PCHS collection will depict Hudson Highlands history as a summer residence for fashionable society. Your gift can help make this exciting exhibition a reality. We also plan to redesign our website, expanding our reach and allowing our members to engage with PCHS digitally.

Please support us as we continue to preserve the past and enrich the present and future. A generous year-end donation to PCHS will ensure that our 2011 plans become reality.

Sincerely,