by Thaddeus Flint
It’s summer in New Lebanon. Too nice to be sitting inside at Town Board meetings and so New Lebanon’s Town Board breezed through its monthly meeting Tuesday night, the Town Hall’s new air conditioner contributing the only uproar of the night as it cycled on and off.
The addition to the Hall, which was completed some months back, is now even more completed thanks to the New Lebanon Historical Society. [private]Digging through their archives of pictures, maps, postcards, old bills and other such artifacts of the Town’s history, they put together a collection of images that shows New Lebanon back when everything apparently was in black and white.
Jeannine Tonetti of the Historical Society brought the images to Museum Facsimiles, which is conveniently located next to the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, and had them blown up and framed.
“He does a spectacular job,” said Tonetti of the Museum Facsimiles owner.
The Board had authorized $1,250 back in April for the project, and the results are impressive for such a modest sum.
There are seven framed images which the drunk drivers and speeders and other malefactors can momentarily escape in as they await their cases to be called in the court room. One shows the Town Hall itself back when it was the residence of Franklin Hand. The court room addition has changed the shape of the structure, but the original ornamental roof pieces still remain. “Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful,” a Shaker philosophy, is evident in both the Hand residence and the framed pictures which will now grace the Town Hall’s walls.
Resident’s don’t have to be formally invited by the police to come and see the new art work either. Everyone is welcome to drop by and take a look. The pictures should be hung on the wall this week by the Town’s official pin board and wall hanger hanger, Scott Larabee, who will do the job one handed, not because he is such an expert wall hanger hanger but because he is currently recovering from a hand injury.
Eventually Tonetti hopes to have old maps of the Town framed as well. These would be placed in the hallway to the Assessor’s office. “People can come and look at them and say ‘oh, that’s where I live’,” said Tonetti. Then they can conveniently go and complain about all the taxes they are being assessed on where they live.
Everyone seemed impressed with the results. “They look great!” said Councilman Doug Clark. “Very nice!” agreed Town Supervisor Mike Benson.
Benson added that he is working on getting a decent version of the Town’s seal scanned so it can be blown up and placed on the front wall of the court room. He also hopes to someday have it placed on all the Town’s vehicles.
Archives
The Board furthermore voted unanimously to accept the archives of the gone-but-not-forgotten Echo newspaper from the paper’s last publisher, Ralph deLeon. The papers will now go to the Historical Society which will be tasked with sorting, cataloguing and storing these journals which document so much of the area’s stories, events, hardships and celebrations dating all the way back to the mid 1940s.
The Shaker Museum is also working to preserve some of its, and the Town’s, history. The great stone barn on Shaker Road is being stabilized with a grant from the New York State Department of Transportation. “The project will prevent further deterioration of the stone barn,” said Benson. The Board voted, with all but Councilman Doug Clark in favor, to allow the Town to act as a pass through agency for the funding of the project. Clark abstained from voting as he has done work with the Museum in the past.
Dump Done
The Town’s dump is also now officially history. At last month’s meeting Benson said that Columbia County was on the verge of accepting an agreement to pay for the closure. “On the very next night,” said Benson, “the County approved the agreement.”
The Town has waived the County’s liability as part of the agreement. In exchange Columbia County will pay New Lebanon a total of $625,000 in four yearly payments, starting in 2014 and ending in 2017.
The Future
As for the Town’s future, Behan Planning Associates, the firm hired last April to figure out how to stimulate the Routes 22 and 20 corridor, is in the process of scheduling meetings with local stakeholders. “There will also be one or more public workshops,” said Clark. These will be after the summer vacation so residents will have a chance to add their input as to what, if anything, should be included in the Hamlet Revitalization Plan.
Cemetery Fundraiser
The Town’s deceased residents have also not been forgotten in all this forward planning. The Trustees of the Cemetery of the Evergreens are once again holding a cabaret fundraiser at the Theatre Barn. All proceeds will go toward the upkeep of the cemetery. This year’s event will be held July 24. Tickets can be had by either tracking down a Board member or contacting the Theatre Barn.
Community Picnic Rescheduled
And finally, but maybe most importantly, residents planning to go to the Town’s second annual Community Picnic at Shatford Park on July 20 need to un-plan that date and re-plan to go on July 27 instead. The date given last month was incorrect. The scheduled time of 11 to 3 remains the same as does all the planned fun, food and activities.[/private]