Oak Hill and Vicinity by Mary Lou Nahas - Bitten by a Horse and More

Durham Center Museum is progressing in their work getting ready to reopen.

OAK HILL The News from Oak Hill and Vicinity: I’ve always enjoyed reading old newspapers which reported local happenings:  A 1906 Durham column in the Oak Hill Record reported that two autos passed through this village on Saturday last.  Bradley Bunce was recently bitten in the arm by a horse owned by Sidney Crandall.  Dr. Conkling dressed the wound. The gypsies have arrived, several wagons passed through here last Sunday. We are sorry to say Mr. E. Lawrence lost his horse after a sickness of a week.  There are 278 pupils registered at Middleburgh High School.  A Hudson grocer sold 30,000 cucumbers, for pickles, in a single day. There are 1,081 dogs in Kingston that have been tagged and registered this year.  Oscar Fields sold a fine horse to a Mr. Hahn of Cairo.  E. Ford is in New York this week buying new goods. Mrs. Delia Graham from Oak Hill has returned from Washington D. C.  P. T. Hoagland and J. W. Mulberry visited Gilboa.  

On Monday last, the Town Board met to appoint a truant officer to look after the interests of our schools.  ‘Squire Borthwick, of Cornwallville, and ‘Squire Rockefeller, of East Durham, suggested the name of Platt Hill.  Accordingly, Mr. Hill appointed. There are now 28 prisoners in the Delaware county jail, filling the jail, two of whom are women.  This is a larger number than has been confined at one time in many years.   James F. Clark, the largest hops grower in this State, finished gathering and curing last week.  The yield is 12,400 boxes which at 16 pounds to the box will give 198,400 pounds or 1,000 bales.  Since the first of July, Newton Houck of Pineville, has gathered 42 pounds of ginseng, which he sold for $1 per pound. 

Today, instead of writing about one topic in Oak Hill and Vicinity, I’m going to report on a number of events which are happening here now,  They may not be as interesting as number of car or cucumbers, horse bites or inmates  or truant officers, or weddings, but they are what we have.

The “Hometown Heroes Banner” program recognizing service men and women from the Durham area who have served or are serving our country in a branch of the military is being rolled out by the  town. The banners are 24” wide by 48” long and in full color.  Each individual banner will honor a specific Durham service man or woman and will include their picture, rank, era of service, years of service, branch of military and sponsor’s name.  Banners will be displayed on poles throughout the hamlets in the Town of Durham from May through November

The Town will maintain custodianship of the banners, and ensure they are hung each year.   Those [like me] who missed the deadline to purchase a banner in the first group, will have an opportunity to participate in the next round.  For details interested parties should contact the Durham Town Clerk by email at  townclerk@durhamny.com, or  but calling 518-239-6122 ext.1.

The Durham Center Museum has completed exterior work on the site on Hwy 145.  John Quirk, chairman of the trustees, noted the wonderful job Quest Star II headed by Erik Nicholsen, has done on that part of the project.    New heating and air conditioning have been installed inside the building.  The research wing is being set up.  Some interior cleaning and tending to the collection need to be done before the Museum can once again open to the public; so, while the board cannot put a time on reopening, the project is well underway.

The Durham United Methodist Church is working with the State to list their building on Rt. 22 on the State and National Historic Registers.  While there is no promised date for listing, the work is well underway

There are a number of new businesses on old sites in the Town of Durham:  the   former Becker Electronics Manufacturing building in East Durham is now home to The  Market Place an indoor vendor mall that feature antiques, handcrafted items, vintage clothing, collectables and much more.   Established in May, 2018, located conveniently at 2195 Route 145 in East Durham, over 125+ vendors ensure that the selection is constantly changing. Continuing our commitment to growth, we’re excited to announce the expansion into the East Wing, adding 47 new vendors to our thriving marketplace, the manager says. This expansion offers even more opportunities to discover rare and unique treasures, with an even greater variety of items to explore.  The Market Place is committed to being the premier destination for collectors and shoppers alike.

They are always open to new ideas and welcome any questions.  Shoppers should free to reach out to Ken Dudley at (518) 577-1441 or e-mail them at the.market.place.east.durham@gmail.com for more information

Nellie’s in East Durham is now under new ownership as  Reilly’s!  Reilly’s also owns a bar in Queens and in Ireland according to Bernadette Gavin, prior owner who will  be busy  at Gavins..

The new business at Mooney’s is being developed.  They have not yet advertised opening information but have appeared at the Town Board meetings.

Dale Handle is working on Tanglewood Ranch II .  Oak Hill has two new businesses being worked on.

This is the time to visit our local farms:  End of the Lane Farm in Cornwallville now has a farm store to house their refrigerators; East Durham Farms in currently open for self-service; Lazy Day Farm will be opening for business soon.  Dean’s Mill’s started their Farmers/Artisan Market last weekend.  They invite people to participate:  “Whether you grow, bake or make something we are looking for you. It could anything from homemade goods to homegrown fruits �and veggies.”

Older newspapers would have given lots of details about events which celebrated local weddings.   The paper might have listed the guests, the decorations, the food, the music.  I won’t go into detail but will only end by saying that Blackthorne kept that tradition alive with a wonderful three-day celebration recently.

Oak Hill and Vicinity keeps the traditions alive and we have a good time doing so..