Town of Plattekill Historian

Recently I had someone contact me looking for more information on the Alta Vista resort and farm property located near what is now Venuto Road. The farm was owned by Letterio Venuti and his son Anthony (Tony) Venuti. There are some business documents regarding the property in the collection , but the only picture I've come across is this postcard image of the main house and dining hall. Does anyone have any other pictures or information about the Alta Vista?

Two of my favorite images of the Modena Hotel/Modena Garage...

Clintondale Boy Scout Troop 171 was organized in 1960. These pictures are from a fifteenth anniversary scrapbook donated to the town by former Scoutmaster Howard Sutterland.

Two Modena businesses, 1954. (Donated by Nat Dawes, Jr.)

More treasures from the Marjorie Gerow Loertscher scrapbooks... Wedding notices and photographs from Mrs. Loertscher's wedding in 1944 and her mother Florence Mae Nabor Gerow's wedding in 1913.

If you've been seeing the credits on the photos posted recently, you'll notice that they have come from the scrapbooks of the late Marjorie Gerow Loertscher. I am so grateful for the donation of these books by Judith Loertscher, as they contain an absolute treasure trove of items connected to southern Plattekill. I hope that you are enjoying the pictures as much as I have been! Today's find is a 1936 souvenir booklet from the Valley School, District 1 in Plattekill. The one r...oom schoolhouse stood near the Plattekill General Store and the cemetery. The earliest school was housed in the Baptist Church that was adjacent to the cemetery, before a schoolhouse was built in 1868. The school closed in 1942 and Valley students began attending the newly constructed Plattekill Elementary School. The building is no longer standing. These are all of the pictures of this school in the Historian's collection - if anyone has additional pictures or information about the Valley School, please contact me.

1939 poster advertising a week of "Refined Vaudeville" to be held in the Waite's Plattekill General Store lot. (From the scrapbooks of Marjorie Gerow Loertscher, donated by Judith Loertscher.)

Images from a church fair at the Plattekill Methodist Church. The church, which was located on Church St. off of Route 32, was torn down when the three Methodist Churches in the town of Plattekill merged. (From the scrapbooks of Marjorie Gerow Loertscher, donated by Judith Loertscher.)

A good day to share this album again...thank you to all of our veterans for your sacrifice and service.

1909 image, with a description reading: "Unloading hay at S.D. Barnes Aug 1909 Boarding Children from Del Terwiligers Geo Nabor on the Load" The barn pictured is Our Lady of Fatima Church today. The Terwilliger Boarding House was across the street; today it is a private residence. (From the scrapbooks of Marjorie Gerow Loertscher, donated by Judith Loertscher)

Thank you Ish Martinez and the Plattekill Historical Society on this presentation today. The Villas live on in history with this beautiful landmark

The Marlboro Library will be hosting a virtual local trivia event this Thursday, May 14, beginning at 7 PM! Free event - advanced registration is required. http://marlborolibrary.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails

In April of 1919, the Clintondale Fruit Growers Cooperative, or Co-Op, was formed to help local fruit growers find a common way to store and market their products. M.G. Hurd was the first president and D.J. Minard was the organization’s secretary. Early marketing efforts included advertisements in New York City newspapers promoting the region’s wide variety of crops, and extensive displays at county fairs and exhibitions. At the time of its construction, the Co-Op’s cold stor...age facility on Station Road in the town of Lloyd was the largest of its kind in the state, with the capacity to store 90,000 bushels of fruit. The joint buying power of the Co-Op allowed farmers to purchase supplies in a cost-effective manner. The storage building was later expanded, and the Cooperative found additional ways to generate income by providing freezer space and meat locker capabilities. For many years, membership in the Cooperative was a beneficial resource to area growers. However, as smaller farms began to disappear and as growers who owned larger farms and orchards began constructing their own cold storage facilities, the space provided by the Cooperative was no longer needed. In 1947 the storage plant was sold and the Clintondale Fruit Growers Co-Op disbanded. An interesting entry in the Co-Op’s historyduring the Dust Bowl era, the Co-Op’s cold storage facility was used for a very different type of crop: cattle hides. Following severe drought conditions in 1934, called the worst ever in U.S. history, a New Deal program known as the Drought Relief Service (DRS) was formed. One of the agency’s initiatives was to provide relief to ranchers by purchasing cattle facing starvation due to drought conditions. Animals that could still be used for food were butchered, and the meat was provided to families in need across the country. Those unfit for food purposes were slaughtered for their hides. All told, the federal government purchased nearly 8.3 million head of livestock in 1934 and 1935 and then contracted with cold storage facilities across the country for storage space to hold the meat and hides. The Clintondale Fruit Growers Co-Op was approached for this purpose in 1935, but at the time was housing so much local fruit that only a limited number of cattle hides could be stored and larger contracts had to be turned down. Still, approximately 1,800,000 pounds of hides were brought to the facility and stored that year.

Plattekill Grange, 1960s. From left - Chris Grismer, Muriel Fosler, Carol ?, Pat Kleeman, ?, ?