Minnie Falls Park: A Hidden Jewel

Jonathan Hyman noticed me photographing the wooden POW figure in a nondescript, overgrown field near the town convenience store. When he approached me, he told me he had just stopped to get an after school snack for his daughter but sensed a need to engage me in a conversation, especially since I was intrigued by the towering sculptures. We talked about this local expression of folk art, its appeal to me, and how it had obviously been long forgotten by the town of Bethel, New York. I told him about my 10,000 Mile Grand Tour and chronicle of the trip on my blog “Did Someone Say RV Road Trip?”

He too had a chronicle of a unique road trip. Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, Jonathan began a photographic journey from Maine to Virginia and across the Midwest. He documented the memorial responses of Americans to the events of 9/11 with over 15,000 photographs. He showed me some of the photos by leafing through the pages of his book – farmhouses painted with giant flags, tree trunks painted with the stars and stripes too. I felt moved emotionally by his documentation of these memorial responses. I promised him that I keep a watchful eye for other memorial expressions as we continued our travels.

I am not sure what actually motivated Jonathan to take his next step. Was it his way of giving back to all the folks who he encountered during his photographic journey? Was it just a simple expression neighborliness? Whatever, Jonathan’s motivation, I appreciate what he did next. He offered to lead us through Smallwood, a little bungalow community, and take us to a beautiful, photo perfect spot - Minnie Falls Park.

Travelers to Bethel, New York would likely miss Minnie Falls Park. The main draw to the area is the Museum at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, a museum that explores the unique experience of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. We had visited the museum that very day.

As we followed Jonathan along Lake Shore Drive and through the rustic roads of Smallwood, he stopped frequently to show us unique features of this hamlet - the vintage log cabins with original stone fireplaces and the old general store.

At White Lake Brook, Jonathan pointed out the scenic cascades of water flowing beneath the canopy of trees. He took some photos of us in this lovely spot until his battery failed. Still he was able to email the photo you see here.

Not far from the brook, Jonathan signaled for us to pull over along the road at Minnie Falls Park. He and his daughter walked with us for a bit. We paused for a reverent moment at the burial place of Mr. and Mrs. Smallwood, founders of the town. Then, Ed returned the favor to Jonathan by taking a few photos of him and his daughter. When they left us, Ed and I continued to walk through the park on the soft moss cushioned ground. We explored the short trails and found our way among the boulders to the brook once again.

Minnie Falls Park is a lovely spot and we appreciate Jonathan and his daughter’s kindness for showing us the way. I would not want droves of people visiting this hidden jewel, that would disrupt the peacefulness of the park. So it is probably just as well that travelers make their way to the Bethel Center passing by Minnie Falls.

June 4, 2008

Photo of Ed & Patty taken by Jonathan Hyman 2008

On the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Jonathan Hyman’s photographs appeared in solo exhibitions at the World Trade Center Memorial Museum in New York and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. In September, 2008, I read that Jonathan Hyman had joined the Asch Center – a study center for ethno political conflict - as an associate director where he will explore the role of visual culture in the context of ethnic conflict.

Ken & Mary Give Us Some Hometown Hospitality

When people learn that we are traveling in our RV, they quickly recommend typical tourist destinations. These happen to be places the locals rarely go – restaurants where they hardly ever eat, art museums they’ve never visited, and crowded festivals they avoid. As we travel, Ed uses the phrase “We don’t do Branson” to say “We want the authentic places, not those contrived for the tourist dollar.”

Sometimes people react with surprise. But when people get it, they become excited. Sometimes they will even offer to be our local guides.

Ken and Mary get it. They picked us up on one of New York’s most humid Sunday’s in June. Our first stop was the swimming hole in Accord. Ken reminisced about coming here as a youngster, something teens still do today. The water was tempting because of the drenching humidity, but we stayed on the dry land. From the base of the dam on Rondout Creek, we watched kids 40 and 50 years younger than ourselves cannonball into the refreshing water.

Ken drove us along roads familiar to him. They were the roads along which his grandparents lived and where his dad had an auto repair shop. We stopped at both places. Later, he came to a stop at a place that looked like a cave with an iron door. He explained that the underground storage vaults behind the protections of the door and surveillance cameras keep documents safe from destruction. This Iron Mountain facility is not in the mile-to-mile guide books of New York.

You will find information about the Delaware & Hudson Canal in travel books. The canal was a significant part of the region’s history and economic growth. The D& H Canal is considered to be among the greatest tributes to American innovation. In 1825, Maurice and William Wurts formed the D&H Canal Company. With financing from investors, their enterprise created a waterway that spanned 108 miles and became the route to move anthracite coal from Pennsylvania coal mines to New York City. This part of history appealed to Ed and I so Mary and Ken suggested we visit the volunteer operated D&H Canal Museum in High Falls.

Inside the small museum, we found the recreation of a canal boat cabin. Entire families often worked and lived on the canal boats navigating the system of 108 locks in a weekly journey to move goods. This cabin exhibit included cooking utensils, a portable bath tub and a straw pillow, something Ed has always said he slept on a kid on the farm in the early 50s. I am not sure if I believe him or not, but I did ask if his pillow looked like the one on display.

The volunteer docent seemed eager to show us how the lock system worked. We obliged by watching her operate a working lock model. In our own browsing of the museum, we learned that in addition to carrying anthracite coal, the Canal carried world famous hydraulic cement and regional domestic goods.

Ken told us that the museum had once been St. John’s Episcopal Church and a place where he came for scouts as a kid. You could still see traces of the church style windows and riser for the pulpit. This church was built between the years of 1883 – 1885. The stone for the Canal had been quarried years before in the area behind the church.

The Canal was eventually abandoned in 1898. Steam locomotion became the favored means of transportation but parts of the old Canal are still visible today. If we had additional time, we could have walked along the towpath trail where remnants of the locks, aqueducts and bridges remain. We cut our time short. The day of our outing also happened to be the day of the Belmont Stakes. Ed wanted to know if we could get to a TV to watch the race. We hadn’t place a bet but the race had been hyped because of legendary Big Brown.

Ken, who is a professional truck driver, showed us he could safely navigate the back roads of New York’s Catskills in his SUV. He got us to his house in time to serves us cold beers before the starting gate went up. We watched the shocking outcome of the race.

We found solace in more cold beers and Mary’s yummy chip dip. That evening, we feasted on grilled hamburgers and hotdogs with assorted salads – potato, macaroni, and coleslaw. We let Mary heap our bowls full of ice cream and I sat in the cab of one of Ken’s big rigs before asking them to drive us back to the coach parked in the Accord Municipal Parking Lot.

We enjoyed a most wonderful afternoon of hometown hospitality with our new friends. Mary and Ken, Thank you so much!

June 15, 2008

D&H Canal Museum
23 Mohonk Road
High Falls, NY 12440
845-687-9311

http://www.canalmuseum.org/

Stories & Tour of FDR Site Give History Life and Relevance

Franklin D. Roosevelt served the United States as President beginning in 1933 for four unprecedented terms. As our 32^nd President, he faced challenging times – the Great Depression and World War II. He put forth the New Deal Programs. And, he comforted and informed US citizens through his Fireside Chats.

In his 1941 Annual Message to Congress, he declared that in the face of the nation’s peril from aggression abroad, our country would look forward to a world founded on the Four Freedoms. These essential human freedoms he said are: Freedom of Speech, Freedom from Fear, Freedom of Worship, and Freedom from Want. These Freedoms are the foundation on which the history of FDR’s era is based. The story is told so well by the volunteers who offer to guide you through the FRD Library and Springwood, his family home. The story is depicted in the exhibits and films.

As I visited this Historic Site, history came alive for me. I had not lived through these hard times. I was born in 1955. Sure the history books at Hempfield Area High School offered a chapter or two about this period of time but it offered no relevancy to a teenager living in the affluence of the late 1960s. The history and relevance came alive only after a visit to the FDR site and subsequent exploration of the Library website.

I have come to think that historians, educators, and the tourism industry need to hearken a call for all of the US public to visit this National Historic Site. We all need a good dose of history to appreciate the basic freedoms we enjoy as a nation.

June 12, 2008

The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site included Springwood, FRD’s family home, and the FDR Presidential Library and Museum. This 290-acre site is located on U.S. 9, six miles north of Poughkeepsie, New York, at 4097 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park, New York. Phone: 845-229-9115. Website: www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu
and www.nps.gov/hofr