Hobart History Day July 19

By Matthew Avitabile

HOBART — Hobart will celebrate its history on July 19 in a series of events hosted by several community organizations and businesses. We spoke to Katherine Duyer, coordinator of the Hobart Business Alliance about the planning of Hobart History Day.

The event is a joint effort of Hobart Business Alliance, the Hobart Historical Society, and the Hobart Book Village. Duyer is a part of all three organizations.

The idea originated in Business Alliance meetings about a year-and-a-half ago from discussion of putting up historical signs around the community. As the project progressed, it evolved into a desire to invite people to see the signs and share in Hobart’s local history. There are currently 11 signs around Hobart.

Duyer said that from the beginning, the signs were meant as a part of a “multi-stage project.” The group hopes to put up more signs in the future.

On July 19, at 10am there will be a walking tour of the village until 11am. This includes highlighting buildings with signs created as part of the Historic Signs Project. It will be led by Don Thomases alongside Don Dales.

From 10 am until noon there will be an open house at the Hobart Historical Society with items on display and volunteers present to talk about the collection. There will also be a slideshow of historical photographs of Hobart.

Around 11:00 two food trucks will start serving food near the Community Center. One will have a variety and the other will serve desserts.

All day there will be open houses at the churches in the community. Volunteers will be present to talk about their churches, each of which has beautiful stained glass windows.

At noon at the community center there will be a panel discussion about growing up in Hobart. Four local residents will discuss memories of growing up in a small village in the Catskills. The program will be recorded and will take place until 2 pm.

There are also two scavenger hunts: one for adults and one for children. Anyone who completes them can turn them in at the end of the day. The group will draw an adult winner and a child winner who will receive gift certificates from the Book Village stores.

There is also antique fire equipment that will be shared with the community out of storage. The circa-late 19th century equipment will be displayed near the Community Center.

The group plans music from 2 pm-4 pm featuring Thirteen for Life, a duo composed of Eric Wetmore and Darrin Collins. The band will play in the gazebo on the grounds of the community center.

Duyer said that the community organizations would like to continue the tradition and was “very hopeful” that Hobart History Day could be an annual event.

She thanked members of the Hobart Business Alliance and Historical Society for their assistance. The Book Village has been essential in the planning of the project.

“I love the fact that it’s a collaborative effort,” Duyer said.

She credits Federico Zimerman at the Book Village Inn for help with technology and planning, including a website and QR codes for the historic signs in the village.

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