Lavern Kelley, Folk Artist

Folk Art in the Everyday Lives of Farm Women

On Friday, September 18 at 6 p.m., Ginny Scheer will give a presentation at the Livingston Manor Library, Livingston Manor, NY, about folk art expression among farm women.  It is the second presentation of a project called Farm and Field: the Rural Folk Arts of the Catskills Region, sponsored by the New York Folklore Society and funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Based on interviews with four women who grew up on farms or who make their living on farms, and including a little known historical folk artist, Scheer's slide presentation will examine how the expressive lives of these women relate to stereotypes of rural women's folk art and crafts, and how their creations come out of the rural culture of which they are a part.

The Livingston Manor Free Library is located at 92 Main Street, Livingston Manor, NY  12758.  for more information call 845-439-5440.

Square Dance October 4 at Walton Theatre

Catskills Folk Connection's 2013 square dance series

Catskills Folk Connection will offer its final dance of the season on Sunday, October 4 at 4:00 PM in the coffeehouse of the Walton Theatre, located on historic Gardiner Place in Walton , NY.  The dance will feature John Jacobson and the Tremperskill Boys, following in the tradition of the late legendary Catskill fiddler Hilt Kelly and his band, the Sidekicks. In addition to Hilt’s Catskills repertoire of eastern square dances, caller John Jacobson will feature some familiar and some innovative longways sets.

Come to this dance to experience the new generation of square dance calling that is keeping the tradition alive. Beginners are welcome and instruction for all levels of dancers will be available.  Admission is $7, ages 12 and under free. For more information contact Ginny Scheer, Folklorist, at 607-746-3521 or e-mail vscheer@juno.com. 

Catskills Folk Connection is supported by the Roxbury Arts Group.  It is funded in part by the New York State Council on the Arts, Gov. Cuomo and the NYS Legislature and the o'Connor Foundation.

Sunday, July 19 1-3 pm Square Dance

The Historical Society of Middletown, 778 Cemetery Road, in Margaretville, NY 12455, will host the July Catskills Folk Connection square dance on Sunday, July 19, as part of their 10th anniversary celebration.  From 1 pm to 3 pm John Jacobson and the Tremperskill Boys will play and call traditional eastern square dances familiar to experienced dancers, but with instruciton for beginners. The Historical Society invites you to come early and picnic on the grounds.  To top it off, throughout the afternoon there will be an ice cream social. Admission is $10.

For more information call Ginny Scheer 607-326-4206 or contact Diane Galusha through the "Contact Us" section of the Historical Society's website www.mtownhistory.org.

Square and Contra Dance at Pine Hill Community Center Sunday, June 21 from 1-4 pm!

Dancers at the Celebration of Hilt Kelly's Life, March 22, Halcott Grange

Casey Mullaney will again join John Jacobson and the Tremperskill Boys adding contra dances to the usual schedule of square dances at the Pine Hill Community Center's bi-monthly dance.  Catskills Folk Connection is delighted to coordinate with PHCC to create a full calendar of monthly dances, first one at PHCC and the other at a venue in Delaware or Greene County.

Come refresh your memory of learning to square dance - it's different than when you may have last encountered it as a child. Or come try out a contra dance - similar to square dancing but organized in two lines. No it's not "line dancing" but line dancers will enjoy it.

We hope you will decide to spend your Sunday afternoon listening to the Tremperskill Boys play Northeastern, New York and New England dance tunes, and trying both kinds of dances.  All dances will be taught, but there will be dances of both types for experienced dancers too.

See you at the Pine Hill Community Center, Sunday, June 21, 1-4 pm.  287 Main Street, Pine Hill, NY 12465.  845-254-5469 or e-mail from their website pinehillcommunitycenter.org.

Can't come?  The next dance is Sunday, July 19, 1-4 pm at the Historical Society of Middletown, 778 Cemetery Road, Margaretville, NY  12455.  For more information go to their website mtownhistory.org.

Pine Hill Community Center Dances are funded in part by the Messinger Family Fund, and NYS Council on the Arts, Gov. Cuomo and the NYS Legislature, with support from WIOX Radio.  Catskills Folk Connection is funded in part by NYSCA and the O'Connor Foundation, and is supported by the Roxbury Arts Group.    

Nellie Bly Ballard "The Grandma Moses of the Catskills"

Since I posted one of Nellie Bly Ballard's paintings here on Catskills Folk's  blog, I have heard from two interested persons.  One was a great-niece of the local landscape painter, and the second was an art dealer from Maryland who had just bought 9 of Nellie Bly Ballard's paintings at a yard sale.  She has since sold them to a collector on Long Island.

The Maryland trove of paintings includes many recognizable sights and views in the Roxbury area. See how many you recognize:

FARM LANDSCAPES:

 

VIEWS OF DENVER VALLEY:

VIEW OF HALCOTTSVILLE:

VIEWS OF ROXBURY:

Join me tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19 at 7 p.m. for Catskills Folk on WIOX 91.3 FM or WIOXradio.org to see what we can learn together by examining these wonderful paintings that have been out of sight apparently for a long period of time.

-- Ginny

P.S.  This book, Between the Branches: Folk Art of Delaware County New York, written by folklorist Doug DeNatale, and published by Delaware County Historical Association in 1985, is an excellent introduction to Catskills regional folk art.  It includes a work by Nellie Bly Ballard and paintings by other artists.  It is available on-line and form the Roxbury Library.

Next Square Dance May 17 in Bovina. Details in Schedule of Events -> -> ->

Walter Stratton Stone House, 1828, Meeker Hollow, Roxbury

Catskills Folk Connection offers tours of Manhattan Country School’s historic house.

On Saturday May 30 and Sunday June 7 as part of Headwaters History Days, Ginny Scheer, folklorist for Catskills Folk Connection, will offer tours of the Walter Stratton House at 3217 New Kingston Mountain Road, Roxbury, NY, just up hill from the Manhattan Country School Farm.  Tours of the exterior and interior of the house will be offered from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. each day.

One of five historic stone houses in Roxbury, the Stratton house is not unique, but does represent an early and substantial construction by a local business man.  Walter Stratton was the son of a prosperous miller who owned a number of mills on streams closer to the East Branch of the Delaware River.  

Eighty years later John Corbin purchased this vernacular house and its tiny lot, made renovations, and raised his family there.  For decades it was the summer home of his daughter, Lena Corbin, a teacher in Amsterdam, then was sold to the Manhattan Country School by members of a more recent generation of her family.

Ginny Scheer will offer period documents and analysis of the structure and site to interpret how families have lived in this house over the years.  Included in the tour will be a 19^th century loom donated by a Meeker Hollow neighbor, a 1920s cook stove and refrigerator, early wall and floor finishes, a wooden spiral staircase, extensive stonework around the house lot and in the cellar, which features the huge stone foundation of a former fireplace.   

Listen to Catskills Folk Tuesday, May 19, from 7 to 8 pm on WIOX Community Radio, 91.3 FM or streaming at www.wioxradio.org when the topic will be the Walter Stratton Stone House.

Winner of Catskills Vernacular Architecture Challenge #5!

Ben Fenton of Fleischmanns is the winner of Catskills Vernacular Architecture Challenge #5.  He correctly located the terrific "carpenter Gothic" house in the village of Stamford, New York, called "Stamford Gables B&B."  It is on Main Street, or Route 23, on the right as you drive into the village from South Gilboa, after the connected buildings with the gymnasium and dental offices that were formerly the grocery store.

Stamford Gables B&B in the village of Stamford, NY

The steepness of the gables for which the house is named shows Gothic Revival influence as does the "gingerbread" on the eaves.  In the earlier Gothic Revival the carved or sawn tracery would have looked medieval where on Stamford Gables it is fanciful flowers (see below).  An imported style, prescribed by supposed experts, has morphed into a new version that may be unique or characteristic of this part of the Catskills or may relate to something the builder saw in another village he or she visited.

Look below for the next Catskills Vernacular Architecture Challenge.

Catskills Vernacular Architecture Challenge #6

Here's the challenge.  Where is this wonderful late 19th century residence?  Can you identify it?  This is just one example of the quality of ordinary (aka vernacular) architecture in the Catskills Region. Our focus does not need to be on the mansions of the rich and famous to find interesting architecture, but rather on the houses built by members of the community.

This house has a number of characteristics of a popular Victorian-era house style called "Queen Anne":  wrap around porch, multi-color trim, stained glass, a "terra cotta" frieze over the porch steps, a corner or bay window, and a multi-faceted roof form (as opposed to some of our earlier challenges that were shaped like a Monopoly hotel).  But this house may carry the name of a style variant because it lacks some Queen Anne elements, especially rounded features (a turret, the shape of the porch) and it lacks shingle siding mixed with its clapboard siding. So the safest style is "Victorian."  Extra points if you determine the proper variant and give your reasons! Remember that for now all challenges were built as residences, most are in villages, and are likely to be on or near the highways I travel most often: Route 28, Route 23, Route 30, and Route 10.  

Notice the elegant leaf motif in the "terra cotta" frieze above the porch steps. Terra cotta is in quotes because I'm not sure that is the actual material on this house, though real terra cotta is often found on Queen Anne houses.

If you correctly identify this house by calling me at 607-326-4206 or e-mailing vscheer@juno.com and describing its location, you will win a prize!  I'll dedicate a song to you on my radio program, Catskills Folk, alternate Tuesdays at 7 pm on WIOX 91.3 FM or on-line at wioxradio.org.  

Don Strausser's Folk Paintings in the Gallery --->

Celebration of the Life of Hilt Kelly

Dancers celebrate the life of Hilt Kelly to the music of  a joint band consisting of John Jacobson and the Tremperskill Boys, Earl and Mimi Pardini, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, Laura Kortright, and more musicians below.
 

On Sunday, March 22, at the Halcott Grange in Halcott Center, New York, approximately 70 people gathered in memory of Hilt Kelly, the legendary fiddler and square dance caller who died on March 3.   Kelly's daughter and son, Linda Armour and Lynn Kelly, spearheaded the celebration, complete with displays of  Kelly memorabilia.  Tom and Lanore Miller organized the pot luck luncheon and Pete and Nancy Ballard arranged for the hall.  

 

Musicians and dancers from around the Catskills gathered to reminisce and to offer the best memorial possible for Hilt: lots of good music and dancing.  Along with John Jacobson, Hilt's "Sidekicks", Don Irwin and Don Strausser, called a couple of dances.  One highlight of the day was when Hilt and Stella's daughter Linda stepped forward and called a square dance as if she had been calling them for years.  Another highlight was the sight of son Lynn dancing the Tennessee Waltz with his mother, Stella.  

 

Ira McIntosh, Pete Helverson, Earl Pardini, Dane Scudder and others provided music during lunch.
 



Paul Rosenberg adds a story about Hilt to the family story book.
 

Everyone agreed it was a wonderful celebration of Hilt's life that helped us each cope with how much we miss him.  A suggestion was made to Catskills Folk Connection that the celebration should become an annual event.  We'll be very pleased to make sure that happens.

 

Ginny



 

 

 

The Catskill Region Loses Legendary Fiddler and Square Dance Caller

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Hilt Kelly, the Catskills' own traditional fiddler and square dance caller, on the evening of Tuesday, March 3, after a long illness.  There will be many memorial tributes, among them the square dance on March 22, see below, which is being re-purposed as a celebration of Hilt's life to which everyone is invited.   The celebration, including a pot luck luncheon , will begin at 11 a.m. at the Halcott Grange, and at 1 p.m. the square dance will begin. Bring your memories, your recollections, and photos to share with Hilt and Stella's friends and family, then stay for the dance.  The Watershed Post is collecting recollections and comments at www.watershedpost.com. Other gatherings may be planned and will be announced here.

Ginny

Square Dance March 22 in Halcott Center

2013 Square Dance Master's Class Pine Hill Community Center

Once again the Halcott Grange, 264 County Route 3 in Halcott Center 12430, will be the site of an old-time square dance, featuring Hilt Kelly's protégé John Jacobson and his band the Tremperskill Boys. Band members are John Jacobson on fiddle, Chris Carey playing banjo, Amy Lieberman on bass, Sheila Addison on guitar, and Ginny Scheer playing flute.

Square dances and waltzes will be featured including many from the Kelly repertoire. The dance will take place from 1 pm to 4 pm on Sunday afternoon, March 22.  Admission is $7.00 per adult (children 12 and under are free) and there will be refreshments offered for sale.

This is a dance for beginners and for experienced dancers. All dances will be taught.  See you at the Halcott Grange!

What is the Catskills Landscape?

T uesday, February 10, 2015

People express their feelings about the landscape through a variety of media. Some tell stories about it, some phtoograph it, and others paint pictures of it, some even depict the landscape in their quilts. Tonight on my radio program at 7 p.m.on WIOX 91.3 FM or wioxradio.org, Catskills Folk, I will ask you to think about what the Catskills landscape means to you and I'll describe examples of folk and fine art that show the landscape in different ways.  But you can see the paintings yourself, here on Catskills Folk's blog!

Robert Mead Farm, West Settlement, Roxbury, NY painted by Nellie Bly Ballard

Nellie Bly Ballard was a self-taught painter from Roxbury who painted farm portraits in the mid-20th century.  This is an example that shows a dairy farm that still has open fields, but the buildings are all gone today.  She could be called the "Catskills' Grandma Moses" because she paints in the primitive manner that represents what she knows is there (and some things that aren't) rather than painting the scenery the way it would look in a photograph.   To someone who lived on that farm, it would be satisfying to see all the outbuildings in their relative positions and the house with all its parts displayed, somewhat as they remember it.

Do you own a Nellie Bly Ballard painting?  If so, I would love to see it.  I'm trying to record all of them I can find and hope to be able to show some of them in an exhibit next year that will bring together narratives, photographs, paintings and - yes - quilts that show the Catskills landscape.  If you have a folk art landscape, expecially one by Nellie Bly Ballard, please contact me at 607-326-4206 or vscheer@juno.com.

Another landscape painter from Roxbury was attorney Ralph Ives, Sr.  He worked at about the same time as Nellie Bly Ballard, but painted in way that seems to reflect the French Impressionists.  I don't know if he studied painting at any time, but he was known in the community as an artist and also as an amateur archeologist.  This painting is more about what the eye can see, including the increasingly hazy distant mountains shown with aerial perspective.

Both painters wanted to depict the Catskills landscape, one to make recognizable portraits of local farms and the other to engage the onlooker in the beauty of the view.  Does anyone recognize this view?   It makes me think of the view from Old Clump, looking west, but I'm not sure.  I don't know if there any other examples of Ralph Ives, Sr.'s work, but of course would be delighted to hear from anyone with information about his paintings.

Listen to Catskills Folk  tonight for a discussion of what we mean by "landscape," how that meaning has changed over time, and how the term applies to these two paintings.

February 8 Square Dance at Pine Hill Community Center

On Sunday, February 8, at 1 pm Catskills Folk joins in publicizing a square dance, combined with a contra dance, presented by the Pine Hill Community Center with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts and the Messinger Family Fund.

John Jacobson call whileTremperskill Boys play
 with Hilt Kelly and the Sidekicks

The dance will feature John Jacobson and the Tremperskill Boys, a group of musicians gaining a regional reputation for perpetuating the square dance tradition of legendary caller and fiddler, Hilt Kelly.  They will play as John calls square dances common for decades here in the Catskills.  In addition John will introduce Casey Mullaney, a fiddler who calls contra dances.  To many in the mountain region squares are familiar, while contras are more often associated with New England. There is a revival movement of this type of line dance that has grown to include many regions in the US, including the Catskills.

                                                                                 

Square dancers at the Pine Hill Community Center 

Sunday afternoon, February 8, is a chance to dance traditional Catskills squares and try your hands (and feet!) at a contra.  The contra differs from square dancing in that the dancers begin side by side in lines down the hall and dance with the couples above and below them instead of couples around the square.  Many of the same figures are used (swing, do si do, right and left through, ladies' chain) but in the line format.  

Come join us for a musical afternoon and try a few dances!  And watch this blog for more dances around the Catskills and at the Pine Hill Community Center.

Catskills Vernacular Architecture Challenge #5

If anyone asks you what "vernacular" architecture means, say "folk" architecture.  While folk architecture brings to mind thatched farmhouses, vernacular is broader - including ordinary urban architecture as well.  Ordinariness is what the two terms have in common, so perhaps "ordinary" should be the synonym for "vernacular."

Here's the new Catskills Vernacular Architecture Challenge #5:

As with the other challenges, this is a notable house in a Catskills town.  Keep in mind that I travel mostly in Delaware County on routes 20, 28 and 23 and sometimes 10.  So far all the challenges have been residences, which I'm sure this one was originally.  Note what it has in common with the Gothic Revival style of the previous callenge.   And what it does not.  Happy hunting!

Remember, if you think you have spotted the house, you can identify it by a description, by its location, by its house number if it has one, or by its GPS coordinates.  Leave your answer at my phone 607-326-4206 or at my e-mail vscheer@juno.com.  The reward for your correct answer will be a dedication of a song on an upcoming edition of Catskills Folk, alternate Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on WIOX 91.3FM  or www.wioxradio.org!  Starting January 27, however, Catskills Folk will be on the air every week through mid-February.  I hope you will join me.