20th Oak Hill Day July 25, 2026

OAK HILL - The 20th annual Oak Hill Day will be held this year on Saturday, July 25, starting about 9 a.m. with lawn sales and food around town. At 1 pm there will be talks about the Oak Hill Ridge Runners and Growing up in Oak Hill held in the Methodist Church. Ice Cream from Stewarts and music from the Twelve Tribes plus anyone who wants to join them will begin at 3 p.m. at the Methodist Church.  

For those new to the area, I want to give the history of the event. Mike Hayes’s book “Oak Hill: Voices from an American Hamlet” starts the story: “On a warm summer’s morning in 2004, a small group of Oak Hill residents gathered around a table in the Internally Gratefully Café [owned by Bob and Karen McCall], with the sound of the Catskill Creek roaring in the background.” They started kicking around different ideas about what could be done for the general betterment of the hamlet. They agreed that a not-for-profit organization could make a difference in helping to preserve historic Oak Hill: “Later that summer, a group of fourteen people gathered together [above the Tripp store] for an organizational meeting of the Oak Hill Preservation Association (OHPA).”

On July 29 and 30, 2006, the first annual Oak Hill Days were held. In the parking lot where Stiefel Laboratories once stood the Twelve Tribes played music and danced in the steaming summer’s heat, yard sales were held in front of Ford’s Store and throughout the hamlet. A pair of Civil War re-enactors held a small ceremony at the grave of Henry Bates and then traveled up to the Oak Hill Cemetery to pay homage to Nathan Augustus (Civil War veterans). The gardens of several homes along Main Street were open to the public. 

What Mike does not include was the fact that St. Paul’s Church held an annual rummage and bake sale that weekend and people thought if OHPA held multiple sales, more people would come to St. Paul’s.

Once the pattern was established, it has remained for 20 years. The day has always started with lawn sales throughout town. There have been history programs and classes of some sort. Food has always been part of the event. The day has ended with ice cream donated by Stewart’s and music on a church lawn. 

Diane Dratz has always requested and served the ice cream. The Twelve Tribes have always played music, and The Yellow Deli has been open with proceeds from the day going to charity. The Durham Police have kept accidents from happening when shoppers park inappropriately and drivers have sped down the state highway. OHPA has always organized the event. Mike Hayes, Nick Nahas, Rosemary O’Brien, Jan Perling and Karen Patterson have been chairpersons, working to make it all come together. 

The 11th annual Oak Hill Day included a Ridge Runners Memorial Car Show held on Oak Hill Road where the Ridge Runners group started. Everyone was invited to bring a vintage car.

There were open gardens around town; the Twelve Tribes exhibited farm animals. Karen McCall had her art for sale. The DeWitt Hotel invited visitors in. There were some open houses. Jan Perlin had a Relaxation Station in the middle of town. The Oak Hill Cemetery had a booth with raffle baskets. Ralph Hull regularly exhibited his art work, Greene Bee Greenhouse sold plants, Paul Barton and Olive Farrell exhibited their art. Norman’s Assemblage was open and Connie and Roger welcomed guests. Local residents talked about growing up in Oak Hill.

A newspaper article started, “The 12th annual Oak Hill Day is scheduled for Saturday, July 29, starting at 9 a.m. with yard sales around town and off nearby roads. There is no map but look for red and yellow signs. Nick Nahas, president of the Oak Hill Preservation Association several years, explained, “Plans are still coming together. It is all pretty informal and things come and go. The day is intended to celebrate the spirit of the community, both past and present. The number of people who come each year speaks to the spirit of the day and the hamlet.” 

The marker designating Oak Hill as a State and National Historic District was dedicated one year; Town Supervisor Shawn Marriott spoke and all the town board members attended. One year, the Twelve Tribes were honored for all they do for the hamlet. John Hull was honored for his contributions to keeping the hamlet looking good.

One year, Fran Cox was honored: “Thanks to the skills and hard work of one man, many of the historic buildings in Oak Hill are standing strong. That man is Fran Cox, also known as the Barn Doctor. Fran grew up on Long Island and after serving in the military in Viet Nam, he moved to the Catskills and settled in Oak Hill and Vicinity. Karen Patterson, president of the Oak Hill Preservation Association, presented Fran with a certificate of appreciation while proclaiming the day dedicated to him. Fran will be here again this year.

“When Sam Stickler was turning the Lyman Tremain Opera House into Sam’s Oak Hill Kitchen, he hired Fran to do the structural work on the building. Next Fran worked on what was to become The DeWitt Hotel Antique Center, replacing the sills and floors and restoring the stairs and newel post in the entrance among other things. Fran recalls how, when he was working on the sills, that he found evidence of the fire which had destroyed the original hotel building on that site. Fran then moved on to work on Doug and Sancie’s house and barn across the street. The barn which went with the house was turned into Cheritree Antique Center. Fran later worked on the Methodist Parsonage and restored the barn behind that house. He worked on the Tripp Store, Brick House, barn, and cottage. He moved an addition originally from Alfred Tripp’s store which had been moved to the back of the barn to the back of the brick house. He also replaced many sills and framing in the Tripp Barn. He finished the inside walls of the little cottage behind the barn, a building which is said to have been part of the Flower fulling mill on the creek. Bob Smith, who passed away several years ago, worked with Fran on many of those projects. Fran has been in retirement for several years but came back to replace the doors on the black barn which appears on the scenic byway’s signs in Durham.” 

Another year the Mert Hulberts started a group sale and added donuts. Kathy’s brother brought Tom’s Hot Diggity hot dog cart, they had music and sold lots of items from lots of people. I always start my day with donuts at their sale.

Karen Kiarulff-Conway and Dean’s Mills organized a sale to support Animal Kind. Gary the Duck helped raise funds for Kitten Angels. There will be collection boxes to help raise money to build an animal shelter in Greene County.

There were often open gardens at Mattice (Ken Dean’s Garden). The Durham Dems frequently had a booth. Many of the shops, housed in historic buildings, were open for visitors and sales: I U Tripp, Mattice, Wild Flower, Pidgin, Yellow Deli, St. Paul church, the Methodist Church,. Used and Amused. The Oak Hill fire truck came. The Wesslock’s Pizza Box, which has opened a bricks and mortar store in NYC, frequently came to the Methodist Church. Every year, Jay Garuc graciously donated hot dogs. Lucinda Mellen has made hot fudge sauce for the ice cream. Jodie McCabe gave flower arranging classes for children at her shop, Wild Flower. She also taught “a build your own bouquet for adults” and her daughters have had a lemonade stand. 

Amaya Guest House offered lemonade and cookies to visitors. We have had talks on historic tax credits, listing your property on the State and National Registers, fishing in local creeks. We have had talks on Growing Up in Oak Hill with stories shared by Iris Cochran, Libby DeWitt, Guy Lounsbury, Ken Brand. Brian Persico, who built a workshop on the site of the historic Cleveland House, invited visitors to see his workshop. Persico explained: “I design furniture and a small line of functional objects from my studio in the Catskills, very close to where I grew up. My greatest inspiration comes from handmade vernacular tools and objects, especially those made in places/times when these pieces were used every day and often as a means for survival. I am also committed to using only natural materials and the wood I use is often from less than 20 miles of my home. Beyond the wood, metal hardware and more tangible materials; my finishes and glues are also made with natural ingredients — many of them recreated according to recipes I’ve discovered from times before most of the toxic chemicals available today were available, some even as far back as the 16th century.” 

What will Oak Hill Day be like this year? Lawn sales, food, ice cream, music, talks, gardens and houses to see, fun and good times. Watch Facebook for details as they are finalized. Post on Facebook if you are planning a sale or event. Pick up yard sale signs at the Tripp store, post office, town building. Contact Mary Lou Nahas via Facebook if you do not live in town and need a spot to set up a sale.

Will there be an Oak Hill Day next year? If someone is willing to organize one. Many OHPA founders and participants have died or moved away. There is no organization to sponsor the event this year, so what will happen in the future is not certain but the event has had a good run. I hope it will continue.