Chuck Henry on Vintage Newspapers

GILBOA — Chuck Henry, manager of NYSHistoricNewspapers.org will be speaking at the Gilboa Museum & Nicholas J. Juried History on Saturday, September 13, 1 pm.  Co-sponsored with Jefferson Historical Society and Historical Society of Middletown, the event will take place in the Museum’s new community room and refreshments will be served. The event is part of a “First Drafts of History” series to encourage the use of our local archives. 

This free illustrated presentation promises a lively talk and a look at new search tools and easy ways to discover information at the NYS Historic Newspaper website. Chuck will also be discussing some background on newspapers and how they're published that'll help speed up searcher's work. It’s a free user-friendly site and marks over 100,000 visitors monthly for its millions of pages of newspapers from every county throughout New York State. 

Coming to the Gilboa Museum from his base in Potsdam, NY, Chuck will talk about these historic newspapers and be introduced by well-known author and the former editor of Catskill Mountain News, Diane Galusha. 

Chuck proudly describes the many kinds of information the papers make available to the international public. While genealogists make up the largest audience for the newspapers due to published obituaries, marriage announcements, births, and other details about family lives, other users appear regularly.  One fellow remembered a murder in his neighborhood when he was growing up. His childhood friends didn't recall it and, he wanted to share it with them. “We helped him find details about the case such as the murderer and eventual court case against him,” Henry said, adding “If you're into true crime, our site is a treasure trove!”

Gilboa Museum activities are funded by New York Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the Office of the Governor and the NYS Legislature; NYPA, Joyce and David Barber Fund, Nicholas J. Juried, and the Town of Gilboa.