Zen hike with Forest Bathing

Improve your connection with nature. Forest Bathing is a Japanese practice.  It’s a process of relaxation; known in Japan as shinrin yoku. The simple method of being calm and quiet amongst the trees, observing nature around you whilst breathing deeply can help both adults and children de-stress and boost health and wellbeing in a natural way.  Beth will lead the group on a 90-minute Forest Bathing experience, helping to ease us into the presence and connection within nature, on the MTHS grounds.  There will be a $10 donation for this event.

  • Hike Leader: Beth Lewis Rennig
  • Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Registration is required. Limited to 15 attendees.  Will be held rain or shine.  For more information or to register, please email mthsdirector@mths.org or call 518-589-6657.

Doubles Hike on the eve of the Full Moon at North South Lake

From a mountain vista, enjoy the sun set and then turn around and watch the full moon rise. Hike to Sunset Rock (for the sunset) and then Lookout Rock or Artist’s Rock (for the moonrise). The sun will set at 8:32 PM and the moon will rise at 9:31 PM.  The hike will begin in the North South Lake eastern parking lot by the beach around 7 PM.  Rain/Cloudy date is Thursday, July 10th (sunset 8:33 PM & moonrise 9:00 PM).

  • Hike Leader: Ryan Penny
  • Difficulty: Moderate (2.5 miles with some rock scrambles)

Registration is required. For more information or to register, please email mthsdirector@mths.org or call 518-589-6657.

Hike Catskill Mountain House to North Mountain Trails

Predicted rain and possible thunder has caused a delay in this hike. We’ve rescheduled the hike from Saturday, June 7 to Sunday June 8. Registered hikers will receive and email with details.
Based on a 1925 photo album discovered on-line by Scott Koster, of college-aged people living, working, and discovering the Catskill Mountains! We will follow some of the places visited by these adventuresome young people.
We will break this hike into a morning and an afternoon section. Bring a lunch we will stop at the Catskill Mountain House site for lunch before we continue with the afternoon portion.
Morning portion South Mountain Trails: We will go from the Mountain House site to Boulder Rock by way of the abandoned trail called the “Circuit of South Mountain”. These young people from communities in New York and beyond were summer workers at the Catskill Mountain House in 1925, the year after the Kaaterskill Hotel burned. They visited the site and stood by a well pump in what had been a courtyard which we visited on our hike to Kaaterskill Hotel in May. They also made friends (based on photos with the boys carrying instrument cases) with boys from the band that performed at South Lake pavilion dances.
Afternoon portion: North Mountain Trails: We will walk from the Mountain House site along the blue trail to Jacob’s Ladder and Bear’s Den. We’d be able to find the site of the ladder based on other photos and one of the girls climbing it. Along the way we will pass the original Artist’s Rock (based on 1860s stereographs) and on to Prospect Rock, Lake View Pinnacle (the original Sunset Rock) and enjoy the iconic view from the top of Bear’s Den.
  • Hike Leader: Bob Gildersleeve co-lead with George Hewitt
  • Difficulty: Moderate
Registration is required. For more information or to register, please email mthsdirector@mths.org or call 518-589-6657.

Nathan Dolinsky Art Exhibit at the Historic 1913 Ulster & Delaware Train Station

Sunday, August 3 at 2 pm, the MTHS’s Train Station (5132 Route 23A, Haines Falls, NY) will house an exhibit of the works of Nathan Dolinsky (1890 – 1980), an artist, instructor, and founder of Camp Schoharie. Nathan Dolinsky was a long-time resident of Hunter, where he painted a variety of subjects in his studio into his 80’s. He encouraged people to visit the “Dream Garden” a space and home, he designed as a wedding present to his sister, to celebrate the fine arts. He began his formal training at the age of 10 and was the youngest exhibitor at the famous 1913 Armory Exhibition in NYC. At 23 he began a 6 year tenure as an instructor at Cooper Union, married a beautiful nurse named Blossom, toured Europe, and returned to Hunter to found Camp Schoharie in the 1920’s. His works are in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institute and the Munson Museum. The exhibit will include several works and prints of others representing his portraits, landscapes, and still life. It will also include a diorama of the “Dream Garden” grounds and indoor space. The exhibit is curated by Carol Slutzky-Tenerowicz assisted by Johanna Titus. Viewing hours are Saturdays and Sundays during the month of August, from 10-4 each day.

We would gratefully accept the addition of volunteer docents, please contact Johanna at randjtitus@prodigy.net. 

Justine L. Hommel Memorial Lecture at the Twilight Park Clubhouse

This year’s lecture will honor the legacies of Shirley Wiltse Dunn, Leah  Showers Wiltse, and Doris West Brooks. The presentation will focus primarily on the research and writings of Shirley Wiltse Dunn and her long-term research on the Mohicans and early Dutch settlers, plus recognition of the two other Mountain Top writers/historians. This event will take place at the Twilight Park Club House, 2 Ledge End Road, Haines Falls, NY. 

Registration is required. To register please email mthsdirector@mths.org or call 518-589-6657

 

Bird Watching at the MTHS Pond

Birdwatching at the MTHS pond for all experience levels. There will be 2 opportunities to join this event. The first group will meet at 8:30 AM and the second group will meet at 4:30 PM. Birds are active in both the early morning and the late afternoon. Come for one or for both sessions each day to see and hear different aspects of avian activity depending on the time of day. Binoculars, field guides, and a sketch pad are nice to have, but not required. Cell phones with bird ID apps can be fun to have, too. Park at the MTHS KRT parking lot. It’s just a short walk to the pond area. Join us for part or all of each session. Heavy rain cancels. No dogs please — they tend to scare the birds away.

The Group will be guided by Nancy Allen.

Registration is required. For more information or to register, please email mthsdirector@mths.org or call 518-589-6657

Hike Hotel Kaaterskill

Important–Reports from the National Weather Service continue to show rain, thunder, and muggy weather for Saturday May 17. As a result, we’re changing the date of our hike to the Hotel Kaaterskill site to Sunday May 18th. If you are registered for the hike, you should receive an email giving the time and location of our meeting site. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The Historical Society has gathered a vast amount of material on the Hotel Kaaterskill in the past several years that really bring the Hotel to light. An 1883 survey of the of the building apparently created for insurance purposes allows us pinpoint everything from the elevator shafts to the location of the ice house, bowling alley, water tower barns, and more. Photos donated to the society by the great grandson of Hotel Kaaterskill owner George Harding (also named George) give images of the hotel not seen elsewhere. The photos of the grounds and hotel interior were taken in the 1920s when the Harding family was preparing to sell the building and are the most extensive interior shots that we have seen. They include the only known shot of the interior of the bridge between the main building and the annex and others of the courtyard.  We will take the carriage road used to take Hotel visitors from the railroad stop at South Lake to the Hotel Kaaterskill grounds. Elevation Gain approximately 500 ft. Distance 3 to 4 miles round trip (depending on optional excursions). The group will meet at 9:00 AM and return at approximately 3:00 PM. Meeting place will be established closer to the date of the hike. A per-car day use charge may be charged on entering the campground. A per-car day use charge may be charged on entering the campground.

  • Hike Leader: Bob Gildersleeve co-lead with George Hewitt
  • Difficulty: Moderate (some rock scrambles possible)

Limited to 20 participants. Registration is required. For more information or to register, please email mthsdirector@mths.org or call 518-589-6657.

Bird Watching at the MTHS Pond

Birdwatching at the MTHS pond for all experience levels. There will be 2 opportunities to join this event. The first group will meet at 7:30 AM and the second group will meet at 4:30 PM. Birds are active in both the early morning and the late afternoon. Come for one or for both sessions each day to see and hear different aspects of avian activity depending on the time of day. Binoculars, field guides, and a sketch pad are nice to have, but not required. Cell phones with bird ID apps can be fun to have, too. Park at the MTHS KRT parking lot. It’s just a short walk to the pond area. Join us for part or all of each session. Heavy rain cancels. No dogs please — they tend to scare the birds away.

The Group will be guided by Nancy Allen.

Registration is required. For more information or to register, please email mthsdirector@mths.org or call 518-589-6657.

Inside the Line: A live Podcast Recording

Please join us at the historic 1913 Ulster & Delaware Train Station for a live recording of Inside the Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast. MTHS Board Members Cyndi LaPierre, Dede Terns Thorpe (Emeritus), and Bob Gildersleeve (Chief Archivist), along with The Catskill Geologist Robert Titus, and Paul LaPierre from the Empire State Railway Museum will join podcast host Stash and co-host Tad to discuss the history of the railroad system of the Catskills, the restoration of the historic 1913 Ulster & Delaware Train Station, and the history of the Mountain Top Historical Society.
Space is limited and registration is required. To register please email mthsdirector@mths.org or call 518-589-6657.

Armenian History of the Mountain Top: Oral History Interview with Sonia Hairabedian


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On a sunny day last summer, board members Carli Gazoorian and Alexandra Prince sat down for a delightful Armenian lunch with longtime Mountain Top resident and Hunter-Tannersville school teacher Sonia “Siranoush” Hairabedian at her home (aka Fort Shish Kabob) overlooking Hunter Mountain. Below is a snippet of the conversation.

Sonia: I’ll tell you about one of the hotels over in Lexington that’s Armenian—O’Hara house. And my parents came there with my grandparents. …And they liked it up here very much. The mountains reminded them of parts of Armenia. Then after that, my father and my grandmother went looking for property, and they found the boarding house here [in Hunter] for $2,800.

Carli: And what year was that?

Sonia 1940.

Carli 1940. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

Sonia …So I came up for one year. My grandfather had put heat in one of the single apartments that was still winterized …So, I said, I’ll come up for a year. Well, fifty years later, I’m still here.

Carli It’s hard to get out.

Sonia So after one year I came up with stockings on, high heels, and makeup, and false eyelashes. And I’m working in the ski shop. Irving Schwimmer— he sees me in town. “What are you doing up here?” [he asked.] I said, I’m going to stay here for the year. “Oh, come and work for me.” I said nah, I had enough money saved then. He knew we were grocers. “You said you worked in your parent’s grocery store. Selling skis is the same thing.” So, I did that for winter.

Carli Where was that? Where did you work?

Sonia Heller’s Ski Shop in um, it’s the building is still, you know, where the rotten buildings are, [the] broken down buildings? Right next door was the ski shop.

Carli Okay, cool.

Sonia Heller’s Ski Shop. And it was Irving Schwimmer’s. So I worked there that winter. And in the springtime, I said, I can’t live up here. You don’t make any money. Everybody’s on unemployment. I mean, the creek, I couldn’t go swimming in the winter. Cuz the creek was an attraction to me. The creek, definitely.

Alexandra Of course, yea it’s beautiful.

Sonia I moved up here. And then after that, that’s when I bought a chainsaw and I started burning wood. And I didn’t have stockings anymore. You know, I had hammers and screwdrivers.

Carli Nice.

Sonia And I have no regrets.

Additional conversations about Armenian history on the Mountain Top, including photos, recipes and more will appear in the Summer issue of The Hemlock and future blog posts.

I look forward to further interviews with Sonia as she is a fountain of memories regarding the Armenian culture,  people and history here on the Mountain Top.  She not only remembers the history of the numerous hotels that existed in the old days but the huge variety of cultures that visited here and established them.  Armenians escaped a huge genocide and were welcomed here as immigrants after WWI  as were the Jews,  Greeks,  Syrians,  Irish and others as strife and wars in Europe continued.

-Athena Billias