Nary a week passes without someone asking me, “Trixie, were Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne just friends or were they lovers?” My usual response is, “I don’t know, I wasn’t there.” However, last month, I was there. I stood inside Herman Melville’s study in his house, Arrowhead, right outside Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he wrote Moby…
Category: Attractions
Copake Iron Works Historic Site
The train runs Saturdays and Sundays 2-4pm through October and is free to hop on board. The museum and the nearby Roeliff Jansen Historical Society are open during the same weekend hours. Are you looking for a fun – and educational – experience for both kids and adults within a half hour of Hudson? Check…
Hudson Area Library Builds a Queer Archive
In June 2024 the Hudson Area Library and OutHudson began the development of a new archive, the LGBTQ+ Hudson Area History collection. This community-sourced archive will include oral histories of LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies as well as donations from the community of video, photographs, memorabilia, art, documents, and ephemera related to Hudson’s vital queer…
Pictures from the Former Foster Office
The Hudson Dog Park’s location, around North 2nd and Mill Streets, used to be the home of the Foster Refrigerator Corporation. When I first moved to Hudson in 2006, the Foster’s office was openly abandoned, as if people went out for lunch and did not come back. You could look in a window and see…
Hudson Riverbend Dispensary Opens!
Alas, poor Great Barrington, I knew thee well. -Every Hudsonian The City of Hudson’s first cannabis dispensary is now open at 531 Warren Street, diagonally across from City Hall. As per law, your age must be verified with proper photo id, before you enter. When inside, I was asked, “Do you partake?” which was a…
Cozy, Consistent Cornerstones
A Trio of Women-Owned Bookstores and the Role they Play in our Community When Kristi Gibson first opened Magpie Bookshop in Catskill just over ten years ago, it was, from her point of view, an act of necessity. “The entire county didn’t have a bookstore at that point,” she remembers, “and I felt like I…
Vanderpoel House Debuts New Shop Celebrating Columbia County History
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Saturday, April 27th marks the opening of the Columbia County Historical Society’s Mercantile at the Vanderpoel House, a charming new shop nestled within the historic Vanderpoel House. The shop offers a unique shopping experience that pays homage to the rich history of Columbia County, New York. Combining the charm of a general…
Black Legacy Association of Columbia County Exhibit at the Hudson Area Library
Hours of VHS 1980’s video interviews with Hudson African-American elders sat in a box in a basement at Columbia Opportunities. Through the dedication of Hudson residents Emily Chameides, Tiffany Garriga, and Quintin Cross, Columbia Opportunities, the organization largely responsible for this invaluable collection, saw that the library could be stewards of it and the box,…
Tales from the Front Lines – Rope-dropping at Disney World
I know what you’re thinking. Trixie, we haven’t seen you at the Farmers’ Market, where are you? Before the season is in full swing, I like to take a break and go on vacation and start the busy time of year with a fresh perspective. I enjoy Florida and Disney World in Orlando. I save…
Ruth Piwonka Scholarship for 2024
The annual scholarship, established by The Jacob Leisler Institute to honor Ruth Piwonka, noted Columbia County historian and beloved Trustee Emeritus of the Board, is awarded to a graduating high school senior in Columbia County who has been accepted at an accredited college or university, and has declared, or has an intention to declare, a major in history. Since…