August 1, 2010

Highland Hose Company No. 5 celebrated 100 years today at their current location at 288 Main Street.  They celebrated the milestone with a few dozen of their own and guests from other companies and representatives such as Village of Nyack Mayor Kavesh.

Company President, Robert White, articulates the pride the company takes in maintaining the beautiful building, and their two trucks that look brand new, even though one is 25 years old and the other is 60 years old.

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New City, July 7 — Route 59 might slow to a crawl some days with too much traffic and too many lights. But at least we don’t have to deal with a toll house, mules and oxen anymore. Take an Armchair Walking Tour and learn the rich history of  The Nyack Turnpike tonight at 7:30p at the Rockland County Historical Society.

On July 21 at 7:30p, hear about Kings Highway, the first major road in Rockland County and for many years the only road from New York to Albany.

The Rockland Historical Society is at 20 Zukor Road New City, NY

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The Hopper House holds a jazz benefit reception and concert honoring Bert and Christine Hughes on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 featuring the legendary Bill Crow and All-Stars.

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by Richard Dysinger

It was a beautiful day for a parade; the bagpipes blared down Main Street and Broadway. Then the brass band, followed by Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Brownies, Young veterans, Vietnam Veterans, Korean Veterans, Veterans on Harley Davidson’s and even Peace Veterans. The Fire Trucks were last and made the turn down Cedar Hill to continue the celebration in Memorial Park.

About halfway through the parade there was a group of three cars.   In them were elderly men in their commemorative caps and shirts.   They do not march in these parades anymore.  They ride in air conditioned cars. They are in their 80’s born in years like 1925, 26, 27. They came from places like Salinas California, Springfield Illinois, and the Bronx.  They were trained to be warriors and many of them were bivouacked right down the road in Camp Shanks.  They were shipped off to fight in places like Anzio, Antwerp, Caen, Tripoli, Okinawa.  They stood down two highly industrialized nations who had vowed to destroy us and had conquered half the world before they were stopped, pushed back and ultimately defeated.  These men and many more like them fought a great war in places the names of which they had possibly learned in their Public School Geography classes, but never dreamed as young teenagers that they would ever visit, let alone fight for and die in.  It has been 65 years since the end of that war. The Nations who vowed to destroy us are now our allies; we drive in their cars and visit their cities with casual impunity. All this in the span of a single lifetime.

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Nyack’s Memorial Day Parade kicks off at 11a on Monday May 31 featuring veterans, several bands, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department Mounted Patrol, scouts and other youth groups. All eight units of the Nyack Fire Patrol will be on parade as well as the Central Nyack Fire Dept, Nyack Ambulance Corps, the Motorcycle Club and local color guards, too.

The parade steps off at 11a on Monday from the Riverspace parking and with the parade route ending at Memorial Park. Participants should line up beginning at 10:30a.

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by Joseph Mitlof

Recently a question arose on these pages regarding the history of the Nyack Brook. The issue was whether the brook may have been used as  a geographic marker for African American slaves escaping North along the Underground Railroad.  There was a suggestion that the brook was man made and not available as a marker during the years that the UGRR functioned.

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by Arthur H. Gunther

Nyack, May 10 — This is a community mostly of the later 1800s and the 20^th century, along the shore of the historic Hudson River. It bustles in its moments, like most villages, though in 2010, much of the movement is by car or truck, with even many pedestrians hopping from those for small jaunts. So much is missed in the process.

Once upon a time, with walkers in the majority, the scenery didn’t just pass by. I rediscovered that fact on a recent four-mile walk from my home in Blauvelt to downtown Nyack.

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Edward Hopper’s use of light will be the subject of a three-part class in June where students will learn digital photography techniques to control light and exposure. The sessions, which will study Hopper’s work and other noted photographers of his era, will include lecture, discussion, on-location photography and review.

Classes will meet on Monday June 7, Friday June 11 and Tuesday June 15. Classes on 6/7 and 6/15 are from 6:30-8:30p and 5:30-7:30 pm on 6/11.

The fee is $85  for non-members and $75 for Hopper House members. Pre-registration required and space is limited. Students should have a basic understanding of their digital camera. All cameras are welcomed.

For more information, call Hopper House 845-358-0774 or email info@hopperhouse.org.

The Historical Society of the Nyacks has just published a facsimile of the original 1935 publication of Life at the Clarkstown Country Club. It was founded by Pierre Bernard (“The Great Oom”), most famous for introducing yoga to America.

There were many lively and eccentric members, and many of the beautiful buildings still stand today. The CCC helped set a precedent for Nyack’s creative and vibrant atmosphere which continues today.

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We’d all like to think that Nyack is a happening place. But generally speaking, something pretty significant needs to happen in Nyack to get the attention of the NY Times three times in the same week.

Apparently it did — 90 years ago. That’s when the “Clarkstown Country Club” was the home base of Pierre Bernard, a.k.a. “Oom the Omnipotent,” or as the NY Times puts it “the P. T. Barnum of Hudson Valley yoga.”

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