Meeting of the Orange County Semiquincentennial Commissionand the Palisades Region Sites representatives

Meeting hosted by the Fort Montgomery Battle Site Association at Fort Montgomery State Historic Site
 
Commissioners in attendance:
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Johanna Porr, Chair
Clif Patrick
Mary Ann Odell
Mary Ellen Matise
Judy Testa
Aaron Lefkowitz
Michael Sheehan
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Valerie Desharnais, DAR Minisink Chapter
Amanda Dana, Orange County Tourism
John Castricone, Orange County Historian’s Office
Stacey Matson-Zuvic, NYSOPRHP
Grant Miller, Fort Montgomery SHS
Peter Cutul, Fort Montgomery SHS
Charles Castro, Fort Montgomery SHS
Jessica Schoonmaker, Fort Montgomery SHS
Elyse Goldberg, Washington’s HQ SHS
Karen Pena, Washington’s HQ SHS
Julia Warger, Stoney Point SHS

• We announced that Julie Cole and Judy Testa have been made commissioners. Judy was in attendance and said a few words about her background and goals for working with us on the OCSC.
• We discussed the two logos which were created by Focus Media. One uses the imagery of the Great Chain with the slogan “Key to the Continent” and the other features a laurel wreath with the slogan “Birthplace of the Republic.”
• We shared that the Technical Leaflet authored by Johanna was featured in the current issues of “History News” magazine. This went out to museums across the Nation.
• We discussed the Field Guide draft, which had been put on the backburner for a variety of reasons. It is our goal to have the guide complete by the end of 2023 so that it can be printed in early 2024 in time for the official kick-off of the commemorative period.
• Valerie explained a project that the Minisink Chapter of the DAR would like to coordinate. She is seeking quotes and permission to restore the Minisink Monument in Goshen. The group was in favor of collaborating on this project in offering assistance or supplies if possible.
• Johanna explained the Weigand’s Tavern site in Newburgh and gave an update on second phase of the archaeological dig which will occur July 17-28, 2023. We will give the dig coordinators our blessing (and logos) to mark this a project as endorsed by the OCSC and hopefully some of the commissioners can participate.
• Aaron brought up the idea of creating a “traveling truck” or perhaps several with school age lesson plans that can be shared throughout the county for programming.
• Johanna explained that she is reaching out to the curators at the Museum of the American Revolution about lending Orange County artifacts to the museum during the appropriate anniversary years. This might include the painting of the Battle of Fort Montgomery (for 2027) that is in possession of the artist Chris Fisher and the 1822 Minisink grave marker (for 2029) that is owned by the Goshen Library.
• We discussed that $2,500 of the $5,000 budget for 2023 has been spent on creating the logos through Focus Media. It was suggested by Mary Ellen that we use the remaining funds to create a simple brochure or rack card to advertise our commission and highlight the upcoming themes.
• Johanna discussed the adjacent effort of “Lafayette 200” an initiative of the American Friends of Lafayette to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s return to the United States. Events will take place at West Point and Newburgh on September 15, 2024.
• Johanna announced that the Gardiner Foundation has supported two summer interns for Orange County, one working on Revolutionary War era research with Town of Newburgh Historian Alan Crawford and another working with Assistant Town of Warwick Historian Sue Gardner.
• Stacey spoke on behalf of New York State Parks about new kiosks that are being installed at the Revolutionary War related sites. These will include historical information, video components and links to direct tourists to the other sites within context of the interconnected history.
• Stacey explained that the state is putting a lot of effort into competing capital projects in time for the anniversaries, this includes the (completed) Tower of Victory Restoration and new pathways at Washington’s Headquarters as well as the (upcoming) restoration of Knox’s Headquarters. The curators from Peebles Island are also rotating through the sites to freshen up exhibits.
• Mary Ellen discussed the efforts in Albany for a “Freedom 2027” commemoration to mark the 200th anniversary of the end of gradual emancipation in New York State. This may overlap in some ways with the programming of the Semiquincentennial and is also something we should consider as Juneteeth is now a federal holiday and the effort could help us develop programming that relates Juneteeth to our local history.
• Mary Ellen suggested that the OCSC should develop a succinct mission statement. And that we should create a simple brochure or handout about our work. And that we should develop a social media strategy.
• Michael shared the most recent information about the gun law in New York State that was passed last summer. It has been amended to allow for reenactments but there is a stickling point that relates to gun cases. Since muskets don’t fit into traditional gun cases, many reenactors are afraid to transport their weapons across state lines to participate in our local events. This needs to be figured out before the 250th events begin in earnest next year.
• Valerie suggested that we should develop a list of hiking trails that are of significance to the Revolutionary War as we have the 1777 Trail, 1779 Trail and Claudius Smith den in Orange/Rockland County.