Explore 'Traces of the past'

NEVERSINK — Orange County has long been renowned for its natural beauty and productive bounty. What makes it such a great place to live? Clif Patrick, Town of Chester historian, will explain at a special program, "Traces of the past," to be held 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at the D&H Canal Visitor's Center, 58 Hoag Road (just off of Route 209), in Cuddebackville, N.Y.

Patrick will talk about family-owned dairies, orchards, and produce farms; tree-covered hills and valleys afire with color in autumn; roads leading to picturesque villages, towns, and cities. Tucked among all those places are hints of what once was: a trace of a foundation, a lone smokestack hidden among trees, an abandoned building, the outline of a racetrack visible only from above, and stone walls framing long-overgrown fields.

Patrick will talk about the history that surrounds us, including railroads, cream cheese, and the world famous Hambletonian, progenitor of the modern trotting and pacing horses. He will talk about evidence left of blast furnaces, trilobites, kilns, an astronomical observatory, mastodons, mines, early settlers and the people who came before them.

Light refreshments will be served at the program. The suggested donation is $5.

For more information call 754-8870 or email nvam@frontiernet.net.