Scientists Robert and Johanna Titus Are Featured Speakers at Gilboa Historical Society Annual Meeting

GILBOA - A “gift of the Ice Age.” With that lyrical phrase the stage is set by scientific authors Drs. Robert and Johanna Titus to describe the theme of their latest book, The Hudson River School of Art and Their Ice Age Origins (Purple Mountain Press 2023).

By linking the arts and sciences, the Tituses delightfully reveal how the Ice Age shaped the region in a way far beyond geography: it triggered the development of its culture. Artists painted lands sculpted by glaciers. Architects built homes on scenic ice age platforms. And, writers described picturesque terrains—all products of the ice age processes.

Frequent guest speakers at Gilboa Historical Society events, Robert and Johanna Titus have been writing detailed accounts about Catskills and Hudson Valley geological history for decades. Joining the Devonian fossil history of the Gilboa Museum, they have been transporting their readers into the distant geological and biological past with earlier books, “Geology in the Catskills,” and “The Catskills in the Ice Age,” and with their many popular local and regional talks. With their new book, the Tituses tell the story of how Hudson Valley geology gave birth to the innovative art of the Hudson River School and much of America’s earliest world-class literature as well.

The Tituses’ lecture will be followed by the Gilboa Historical Society’s Annual Membership Meeting to which all are invited. The GHS is using this opportunity as an “Open House” for the public and existing GHS members to learn what the Society has been up to this past year, reveal progress on the building’s new community meeting room addition, and launch a membership drive for new members as the Museum enters its 20th year.

“This is a call for current Society members, anyone interested in becoming a member, or just interested -- to hear a wonderful talk from our friends Bob and Johanna Titus and learn about the Society’s activities. We want to hear your ideas of how best to shape the Society’s future as we plan the Museum’s 20th anniversary in 2025 with the opening of a new community room funded by the generosity of Gilboan Nicholas J. Juried,” said Acting GHS President, Kristen Wyckoff.

Mark Saturday, October 19, 1 PM on your calendars and join us at the Gilboa Museum and Nicholas J. Juried History Center, 122 Stryker Road, Gilboa, NY 12076 for the Tituses’ illustrated talk, “The Hudson River School of Art and Their Ice Age Origins,” and be sure to leave enough time after the talk to attend our annual meeting, tour the museum and enjoy some refreshments while you’re here.