Local History

Historic Red Hook Then-and-Now Festival To Debut Saturday: ‘We Make History Every Day,’ Director Says


Historic Red Hook has a message for anyone who thinks its members are a bunch of old codgers sitting around debating the minutiae of dates and historical events. Red Hook is an unfolding story, its executive director will say, and history is created every day. To celebrate that message, on Saturday, the organization will sponsor its first Then and Now […]

Marker for the Marquis: Eighteen Words on River Road Stoke a Revolutionary War Controversy


A new historical marker on River Road celebrates a Revolutionary War general in only 18 words, but they have ignited the ire of at least one local American history buff. He wants the sign changed. The marker, installed earlier this month near Montgomery Place, is one of 118 signs along the Lafayette Trail, a project commemorating the Revolutionary War general […]

A Fire in Photos and Videos: Thursday Night at the Migliorelli Barn


For nearly nine hours after midnight Friday, dozens of firefighters from 12 local fire companies battled a blaze at a half-acre barn on Ken Migliorelli’s farm off Budds Corners Road (read our story). The Daily Catch has gathered photos from the Tivoli Volunteer Fire Department, Daily Catch reporter Victor Feldman, Red Hook Area Chamber of Commerce Director Agatha Bacelar, Migliorelli’s […]

Told Their 1973 Teen Marriage Didn’t Stand a Chance, Couple Celebrate Their 50th Anniversary


When newlyweds Jerry Husman and Teresa Griffin stood at their Red Hook High School graduation in 1974, she holding their infant son Justin, few gave their union a chance. Months earlier, a last-minute wedding had been called, for which she wore a blue dress. “She was no longer pure so couldn’t wear white,” her son, Justin, recalls. She was four […]

Hoping to Make History as They Dig For It, Bard Archaeology Students Seek Native Culture Clues At Maya Lin Building Site


On a patch of lawn west of Bard’s Fisher Center, Lily Hess crouches over a 20-by-20-inch square pit. She eyes the colors of the moist soil on the mud walls below and spots a slight variation, from yellowish orange to a darker brown. Could there be an old fire ember here? Or an arrowhead? “Let’s go to 30,” Prof. Christopher […]

Nostalgia No More: After 76 Years Selling Simple Yet Pressing Solutions, Beloved Stickle’s Dime Store To Close


A.L. Stickle, the beloved dime store that has sold candies, toys, notions, and its own brand of nostalgia on East Market Street in Rhinebeck, will close its doors on Friday, May 20, after 76 years in business. “The business has watched the village evolve and the world change,” the store posted on its Facebook page announcing the news today. “We’re […]

Researching Red Hook Home and Business Histories Just Got A Little Easier with $16,000 Grant for “StoryStudio”


Historic Red Hook’s StoryStudio, a facility for citizen research on family, home and business histories, has moved one step closer to completion with a $16,000 grant from Dutchess County. The late 19th-century building that will house StoryStudio is located just east of the Elmendorph Inn on Cherry Street. It will be outfitted in several months with movable shelving to make […]

Red Hook’s ‘Modern Day Witch’ Seeks the Perfect Purple Sheep Dye As She Promotes Old-World Crafts at the Fair


Onion skins, butternut tree nuts, and bedstraw seeds simply will not do the trick. Bonnie Feller Warwick is on the hunt for the perfect natural ingredient to make a bright purple wool dye. This is a very serious matter. And Warwick leans in to punctuate her message about its urgency. “I can get mustard yellow, kelly green, and a beautiful […]

Vintage Diner-Deli-Pond Site in Elizaville Hits the Market as Owners Seek New Projects


Hauled from Pennsylvania 16 years ago and today one of the finest diner cars still standing in the United States, the Elizaville Diner has gone on the market as its owners move to new projects. The diner and the brick-and-mortar deli beside it on the 2.2-acre site off County Route 78 just north of Upper Red Hook have a storied […]

Recalling Her Red Hook Roots and Touched by Ukraine’s Pavel Kuljuk, Kansas Woman Becomes New Donor to The Daily Catch


Editor’s Note: This past weekend, The Daily Catch’s series with our Ukraine correspondent, Pavel Kuljuk, was featured on the acclaimed national NPR broadcast, UpFirst, after its debut last week on Rough Translation and, in an abbreviated form, on Morning Edition. A woman in Eastern Kansas then reached out to donate to the newspaper. We asked her to explain why. Carey Maynard-Moody, […]


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