Tuesday, December 22, 2009

As Seen ... 90 Years Ago ...

The peeling of the onion floor in the bar continued today, and I uncovered the first section of the original wide plank flooring, which we intend to restore. So far it is looking very good. This is no surprise, because I uncovered an area which I suspected to be without blemish, aside from that, it had been covered for the last 90 years.


How do I know it has been covered for 90 years? As you remember, just above the wide plank flooring is a 3/8 inch oak flooring, and between the two I found a 1919 issue of the New Paltz Times, the April 9, 1919 issue to be precise. As World War I was over the next big news was the announcement of the schedule change for the Wallkill Railroad.

Aside from the New Paltz Times, I also uncovered an April 11, 1919 issue of the New Paltz Independent. What this means is that in 1919 New Paltz, a town which today has less than ten thousand inhabitants, supported two newspapers. Now that is impressive.


Dirk

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