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Fall 2002: We are open Saturdays and Sundays for tours
from 1 PM to 5:00 PM until Sunday, October 13th. Contact us at
any time from 9 AM to 5 PM Wednesday through Sunday to make an
appointment for a private tour, reserve at one of our dinners or
lectures until then.
Review the newsletter here or
download it in
WORD. After we close, the
Prattsville area and Northern Catskills thrive during the Fall,
the Winter ski season and the Spring. Please visit our
many Review the list of our
2002
Platinum Business Members
for local lodging, fine dining, shopping, services and local
activities.
WITH DEEPEST REGRET
Andy Dresser,
our long-standing Board Member, passed away August 28, 2002. A
very special person; he was always there to help � with the gift
of humor.
Andy was many
things to many people - beloved teacher, shy artist,
hard-working Board Member, tireless tour guide, mischief-maker,
wit, sophisticate, forever friend. He loved flowers, animals,
and most of all � his hometown of Prattsville.
As the Pratt
Museum�s �goodwill ambassador�, it was his gift of the
Commercial Building that made it possible for the Museum to save
one of the Town�s earliest and architecturally important
buildings.
But this is
not only how we will remember Andy. We will remember him:
-
As a tour
guide, with a sly smile, �revealing� that Susie Grimm, the
colonel�s fifth wife, ran off with the stable boy;
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In the
Museum garden, gently breaking off a piece of lavender and
offering it to a visitor as a gift to enjoy;
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Training
young tour guides to �swoon� on the fainting couch;
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Sitting on
the Museum porch in summer, as car after car beeped homage to
him as if he � and not Pratt � was master of the house. Maybe
he was? It is almost impossible to think of the Pratt Museum
without thinking of Andy.
We know that
Zadock Pratt and his family were among the many friends who
gathered at the gates to greet him. We also know, now that he is
gone, we will mourn his passing for a very long time to come.
Please
visit our page with a rather irreverent
photo collage of
Andy's times at the Pratt Museum.
Those wishing
to leave a message in Andy�s honor may do so by going to
www.prevatte.com/AndrewDresser.
The Pratt Museum Board voted at its September 11, 2002 Board
Meeting to apply all donations made to the Pratt Museum on
behalf of Andy Dresser to restoration of the �Commercial
Building�. You can send a donation in Andy Dresser's
memory to the Zadock Pratt Museum,
P.O.Box 333, Prattsville, NY 12468
^Top
MUSEUM
NEWS
The Historic Progressive Dinner
on July 27, 2002 was a resounding success, thanks to the
efforts of everyone involved, bringing in over $1,600. The
dinner was �sold out� three weeks in advance. If you missed it,
book now for the Candlelight Dinner at the Museum, on October
19, 2002 � another delightful evening for our friends to get
together!
A $2,500 grant from The Upstate
History Alliance
has enabled us to hire Pamela Herrick as a
consultant for the Museum�s �strategic planning�. Over four
months, the Museum Board will be meeting with Pam to review the
Museum�s �Mission�, its organization, and its policies and
procedures, to enable it to more clearly define its role in the
Northern Catskill Region.
A $12,500 grant from The Catskill
Watershed Corporation
has been matched by $5,000 from The O�Connor Foundation
to begin restoring the brown �Commercial Building� at the west
of town, ca. 1824, that was the first building in Zadock Pratt�s
planned community. Donated to the Museum by Andrew Dresser, our
vision is to have it become the �Western Gateway� to the
Mountaintop. The external restoration will cost $25,000; so, an
additional $7,500 is needed to restore the outside to its
original design.
^Top
A
FUNDRAISING REMINDER
Each year we
need to raise nearly $15,000 through memberships, donations,
admissions, and attendance just to keep the Museum in operation;
this includes fuel, insurance, utilities and grounds
maintenance.
It does not
include the cost of free exhibits and lectures, the cost of
conserving our buildings and collections, nor the salaries for
its staff that are, in part, covered by grants from
The
Greene County
Council on the Arts, The Bank of Greene County,
and The O�Connor Foundation. So,
you can see how much your support means to keep this Historic
Home Museum (the only one in the region) alive! But, most
of all, our volunteers are essential�step up, preserve our
heritage, and help live history together!
^Top
CORPORATE
MATCHING FUNDS
Does your
employer have a policy for donation matching? Many companies
will match donations you make to a not-for-profit organization
1:1�this means for every $1 you give, we get $2. We are happy
to provide all documentation you need to accomplish this. Make
your donations count; check with your employer about these very
important programs.
^Top
BUY
A SLICE OF HISTORY
Do you have
your copy of the
Pratt Museum Dinners Cookbook?
Including over 300 recipes from 23 years of Museum Dinners, from
1979 to 2002, this cookbook will be complete at the end of this
year. The cookbook costs $25 updated through the year 2000, and
releases are available every year since then (this year�s
release for 2002 will be available in April 2003). Only a
limited number are left. Buy your copy now and own �a slice of
history��
^Top
CHRISTMAS
ORNAMENT
The Pratt
Museum will sponsor its 2nd historic Christmas
Ornament this year, etched with Pratt Rocks � the National
Historic Site that in 1988 Ripley�s Believe It Or Not called
�New York�s Mount Rushmore� - ca. 1845. Reserve your ornament
now by calling 518-299-3395. Only $16, these Christmas Balls
sold out last year well before the Season started!
^Top
EDUCATION
PROGRAM
The Museum is
formulating an Education Program that will include a Learning
Center, School Tours, Professional Development, and a �Young
Curators Exhibition�. If you are an educator and would like to
help with program development, please give us a call.
^Top
PLATINUM
BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP
Did you know
that a
Platinum Business Membership entitles your
organization to a web page on the Pratt Museum website? $100
per year gives your organization a page on this website that has
been in existence since 1998 and is a source of information for
the Mountaintop. Since August 2001, there have been over 20,000
�individual visits� to the site � so people are using it to plan
their trips, find local churches, dine out, find places to stay
and just enjoy this region � so close to New York City � yet so
far. Please visit
www.prattmuseum.com,
and if you are interested in having your own page, call
Barbara Cernikovsky at 518-299-3369. Review the list
of
2002 Platinum Business Members.
^Top
HISTORIC
REGISTERS
An
architectural survey done in the mid-1990�s showed that 94% of
the structures Pratt built, still stand � over 160 years later.
If your home is one of those buildings, you might register it as
a historic property - it may merit tax incentives or financial
assistance to respect its historic character. Contact Muriel
Pons, Town Historian, for an application package if you live in
Prattsville: 518-299-3395.
^Top
BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
|
President - |
Janelle Maurer |
|
Vice President - |
Arnold Jaeger |
|
Secretary - |
Diane Eklund |
|
Treasurer - |
Michele Brainard |
|
Carolyn Bennett |
Barbara Cernikovsky |
|
Betty O�Hara |
Ruth Pelkey |
DID YOU KNOW?
Zadock Pratt,
in his
first term in the U.S. Congress::
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1836 � Elected House of Representatives to U.S.
Congress for the Eighth Congressional District of
New York.
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1836 � Chosen as one of the electors of the
President and Vice President from New York.
-
1837 � Noted in his diary that slavery would cut the
country in two.
-
1837 � Appointed to the Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds, Washington, D.C.
-
1838 � Moved a resolution to reduce postage from 25�
to 5�.
-
1838 � Moved a resolution to procure foreign seeds
and plants to be distributed free to farmers of the
U.S. via the Patent Office.
-
1839 � Moved a resolution to build public buildings
in Washington, D.C. only from marble.
-
1839 � Moved a resolution to establish a Branch Mint
in New York City.
-
Second Congressional term in next
issue.
^Top
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WISH
LIST
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Signs for
both sides of Town listing local sites listed on Historic
Registers
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2 office
chairs in good condition
-
Pentium II
or III computers for media center
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Filing
cabinets
-
13� color TV
in working order
-
VCR in
working order
-
Video Camera
in working order
-
Large (at
least 20� x 40�) engravable plaque
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Black Board
with Chalk
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Valuable
item for Christmas �Raffle�
-
Period Items
(circa 1790 � 1880) for our collection
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More members
(call us for a brochure)
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Volunteers
^Top
PLEASE REMEMBER US IN YOUR
WILL
We are a
non-profit education corporation, so please remember to consider
us in your will. You may either make a direct donation or
consider leaving us an endowment, through the NBT Bank, Grand
Gorge. ^Top
UPCOMING EVENTS 2002
MISSION
�The Zadock
Pratt Museum is dedicated to
exhibiting the history and culture of the
Northern
Catskill Region during the mid-nineteenth century,
the heyday of the hemlock-based tanning industry in the area.
This area is best illustrated by reference to the life of Zadock
Pratt, founder of Prattsville and the region�s most prominent
tanner.�
The Museum
strives not only to preserve the
Pratt Homestead and its collections, but also to
interpret this period of history and
to attract to the Museum, through diversified programs, all age
and interest levels, using the Historic House
Landmark as a backdrop to many education and cultural events and
exhibits.
^Top
2002 SUPPORT
We want to
thank all of the organizations and individuals who have provided
support this year:
The O�Connor Foundation
The Catskill Watershed Corporation
The Catskill Mountain Foundation, Inc.
The Upstate History Alliance
The Greene County Council on the Arts
The Town of Prattsville
The Bank of Greene County
Benjamin Moore Paints
Our Members and Donors
^Top
Download the Fall Newsletter in
WORD. |
