Dutchess County Historical Society 2004 Awards Ceremony & Dinner
[From the Program - November 19, 2004]
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President Steger, Trustees, Society Members and Guests: Thank you for giving me this opporutnity to introduce a special friend. I have always told my children to be careful about meeting people from the internet. I am here tonight to confess I did not follow my own advice. About 5 years ago, I answered a message on Rootsweb and we began comparing notes on our ancestors. We soon discovered that we lived close to each other. Throwing caution to the wind, I met Ginnyflies. My life has never been the same. My kids affectionately call her Crazy Ginny. We have dragged each other to old, overgrown cemeteries with only cameras, notepads, garden trowels and scrub brushes for defense against snakes and hunters. On the way home from research trips, she is known to make impromptu stops so we can trudge through mud and snow wearing sandals to transcribe and photograph old stones so she can post them on her website. NOW, I wear sneakers whenever I go out with her in daylight. She worked on my son's Eagle Scout project at Fishkill's Reformed Church Cemetery. I have helped her transcribe dusty, archived church and funeral home records. This year I conned her into helping me research a small family cemetery for a Girl Scout Gold Award Project that led us to our Abraham Fort Homestead restoration project. We have had a very intense year of research, learning the ins and outs of historic preservation and how to become a non-profit group. But, she still found time to keep up her quest for a County Historian through petitions, and a nation-wide e-mail and letter writing campaign. When Ginny sees someone who has been cast aside, abandoned in death - she goes into action. She will make sure they and the stories of their lives are not forgotten! This was the case when she discovered the conditions at the Dutchess County Poorhouse Cemetery. About 4 years ago, a woman wrote to her for help finding her grandfather's grave. She found that the graves were only numbered and the buildings were in bad shape. It became her mission to not only find out who the people were that were buried there and something about them, but also to save the cemetery and the buildings. She closes many of her emails with a quote from Benjamin Franklin. "Show me your cemeteries, and I will tell you what kind of people you have." She works endlessly to make sure that the long dead are not the long forgotten and Dutchess County is a better place because we have someone like my dear friend and the Society's honoree, Virginia Buechele. |
Thank You Judy for the Glowing Introduction! President Steger, Trustees, Members & Friends of the Society, Honored Guests. I thank you for bestowing this honor upon me this evening. In accepting this award I feel both humbled and rewarded. When I first learned that I was to receive the 2004 Helen Wilkinson Reynolds Award, My first reaction was WHY ME! I don't believe that if I were fortunate enough to live another 100 years that I could ever accomplish in my lifetime what Helen Wilkinson Reynolds accomplished in hers. I have been fortunate to be able to rely on her notable writings and research often in my own research. To receive this award named in her honor is truly an honor for me and I am humbly grateful . I have been fortunate in other ways also. I was fortunate to have had parents who taught me to stand up for what I believe in and to not Quit when the going gets tough, because things will get better . These values instilled in my youth are what have caused me to speak up and I might add out when ever the opportunity presented itself When I See our history being ignored a cemetery uncared for, disrespected, in danger of being lost or forgotten our County Historian postion vacant for an extended period, the lack of care of & public accessibility to our Public Historical Records, the lack of compliance with our County Charter and Local Laws structurally sound historical buildings in danger of being demolished because somehow the importance of Dutchess County's Long and Significant History is being swept under the Carpet in the name of " Progress ." I speak up because I Believe our history is important by looking back, we gain insight into the future, by preserving and protecting our historical past, we provide a priceless gift for generations to come - a guiding light into their future. that in treating our history with dignity and respect we show gratitude to all those, aristocrat and farmer, rich and poor, who have gone before us and are a part of what all of us have become or will become in the future. After all, if we only know the history of the rich and famous then we really don't know our history at all. Rich - Poor ; Farmer - Aristocrat; The Past - Genealogy and History; Caring - Preservation - "PROGRESS" - Woven together - WORKING HAND IN HAND CAN provide the durable priceless enduring fabric of our County that will perpetuate itself into the future. If along the way I succeed or I fail, I have the satisfaction of knowing I tried . I have been fortunate in having many friends and supporters who always heeded the call to arms when I found it necessary to call out the Militia. Still there have been days when I became weary and the fuel tank seemed to be running low. In accepting this Award I would like to say that I feel truly rewarded by the Society for their recognition of my efforts on behalf of Dutchess County History. Thank You for the fuel to keep the fires burning . Thank you my friends for your encouragement and support. Together we can make a difference. |
The Helen Wilkinson Reynolds Award is presented to a local historian who is a current example of the meticulous search for historical truth that embodied the life of its namesake [ Helen Wilkinson Reynolds ]
The Dutchess Award is presented to honor exceptional contributions by a county resident to the community in the areas of preservation, history and education.
Board of Trustees 2004 Werner H. Steger, President
Staff Eileen M. Hayden, Executive Director Assisting Staff MaryLou Davison |
90th Anniversary Dinner and Awards Committee Richard Reitano, Chairman Mary Ann Lohrey Joan Smith Werner Steger Holly Wahlberg - Graphic Design and Editing Event Patrons Central Hudson Dutchess Community College Foundation Dutchess United Educators Bernard and Shirley Handel Poughkeepsie Journal Vassar College Event Donors Stefani Evans Dr. Carol M. B. Joseph Lorraine M. Roberts The Honorable Albert M. Rosenblatt Tom and Joan Spence Margaret Zamierowski |
[*Donations to the work of the Historical Society are always appreciated and promote the mission of the organization to preserve and interpret the history of Dutchess County]