In
1998, Bebe Loizeaux, a resident
of Beaverkill and the Pastor of
The Beaverkill Methodist Church,
talked with neighbors about the
need for help in preserving the
original clapboard siding of this
simple, elegant one room church.
The Church had been open to everyone
in the community for many years
– for weddings, christenings,
funerals and every Christmas Eve
for a carol sing, so I sent a
letter to residents of the valley
to see if we could work with church
members on this. The response
was enthusiastic and when we met
to talk about raising funds, we
found other areas of mutual interest;
the Beaverkill Covered Bridge,
the Beaverkill Campsite and the
1890’s metal bridge at Craigie
Claire. We decided to form The
Friends of Beaverkill Community.
As
we met and talked about ways to
enhance and preserve these things,
a growing sense of community developed
and our natural surroundings led
to curiosity about the people
who lived here in the past. The
old stone walls climbing across
the mountains marked pastures
from another era. Old barns reminded
us of the days when this valley
was dotted with farms and boarding
houses. The sharpness of the icy
winters, the river brimming and
sometimes raging in the spring,
the lazy summer days swimming
under the covered bridge and the
brilliance of sugar maples in
autumn made us wonder; how did
the people before us experience
these seasons? Why did they build
these houses, this church, this
covered bridge? What were their
lives like?
Most
of us moved here as adults, but
a few of us had the opportunity
to get to know people who had
lived here since the early 20th
Century. Some of them had kept
memoirs of their life. People
who had spent summers in Beaverkill
also had notes and pictures of
earlier days. Many of us found
records of valley events in boxes
left in attics in the old houses
we bought, old ‘flyers’ about
the campsite or hotels in the
area, some of which had been printed
in magazines or newspapers, and
many pictures(too often with no
captions) left behind by previous
owners. Clearly people in the
valley had been keeping records
and writing about the history
of the Beaverkill for many years.
So we decided to preserve this
heritage in a book.
We
combined an initial group of memoirs,
stories and pictures to form our
first volume of Stories of the
Beaverkill. It was designed by
Elizabeth Ennis, from Roscoe,
and printed by the students at
Livingston Manor High School.
The 200 copies quickly sold and
there was great interest in publishing
another book.
Volume
II was a much bigger undertaking.
Over thirty people (some of whom
moved away years ago) contributed
articles, poems, pictures and
background information. These
voices illuminate a particular
time, place or event in the valley
and cover the period from early
settlement up through the 1960’s.
They include a variety of topics;
the histories of over ten families,
a mother’s letters to her two
sons serving in WWII, telling
of her solitary life at Clear
Lake, childhood memories of swimming,
hiking and rabid foxes in the
40’s and 50’s, games on one of
the first golf courses in Sullivan
County, and tales of hunting and
fishing on the river.
The
articles were edited by Virginia
Lawrence, John Kelly and Patricia
Adams. Virginia Lawrence volunteered
to design the book. Again the
students at Livingston Manor High
School, under the supervision
of Dr. Debra Lynker and Sue Zieres,
printed 200 copies. They were
sold within weeks after they came
back from the binders.
Now
we have combined the two volumes
and added some more information
and a collection of photographs
from the Beaverkill archives to
make The Heritage Edition of Stories
of the Beaverkill, which went
on sale in February 2007.
For
those of us in Beaverkill, this
book enlivens our present with
the past and enriches our sense
of community. Stories of the Beaverkill
has strengthened our friendships
and created a sense of mutual
commitment to a place we have
all grown to love.
But
the value of this book goes far
beyond individual voices or our
individual valley. The real value
is how a community can work together
to produce something that celebrates
a shared heritage and preserves
it for generations to come.
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