Andes Gazette

By Judy GarrisonEach month, a week or so prior to our edit date, I go over to the Archives at the Hunting Tavern Museum, and extract the weekly Andes Recorder issues of the coming month of a hundred years past and I photocopy the “Man on the Street” column and adjacent news bits. Usually there are 4 issues, but sometimes only 2 or 3 in our collection.  At my leisure I highlight whatever catches my attention.

Sometimes a simple turn of phrase tickles my fancy or an occurrence that seems odd or rare in the context of today (autos were new then and, spooking the horses on the road as they often did, seemed to many a horrific contraption). At other times I’ll choose an item (dusty roads, flooding basements, city folk arriving for the summer months) because of its all too familiar content.

The Recorder tended not to cite some of the more sensational stories found in other newspapers of that day. When there is a news account of a suicide or a homicide-usually in other towns-I don’t include it.

When I need to get clarification on where something happened, for instance, or just hope to fill in with more of the story, I may email my rough draft to Jim Andrews or another for comment or explication. Anyone with a knowledge of local history who is willing to be a resource for this column, please let me know. Comments to the Gazette or me regarding past columns are always welcomed as well. 845-676-3533 or garrison@catskill.net. ~