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Making History

Posted on June 29, 2019

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?“

If an event happens in the past and is not, in some way, recorded or preserved, has it happened?  Is it history?

History has to be made. 

This is the story of how some people collaborated and made history and at the same time contributed to the soul of their community.

 

When Brian Gerber and his partner, John Reeser, bought an old house they knew it was on the site of a former water mill that had once stood across the road just seen in the background on the far right.

 

Only a few traces of the mill remained: some footings and a spillway.

 

From the few photos that were in the house, it was clear that it was quite a large enterprise.


Some workers sampling some of the cider they pressed?

Brian and John enlisted the help of local historical organizations and did a lot of research about the property in order to share its history with the community.  

This film is that story. And if it is seen by others, it will become history.

The special “celebrity” guest was Clifford Erving Goldsmith who was actually born in the house at the time that the mill was still in operation. Cliff is a living link to the mill operation!

A detailed discussion of the metaphysics of trees falling in forests is here on Wikipedia.

2 thoughts on “Making History”

  1. Judy S. Harpp says:
    June 29, 2019 at 12:03 pm

    THANKS for posting this Stan!!!
    I totally forgot to go and am very sorry!

    Reply
    1. stan says:
      July 2, 2019 at 8:21 am

      We missed you! But at least — I hope — the video gave you an idea of what your old neighborhood was like.

      Reply

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WHY THIS WEBSITE

I came to Pine Plains by choice, not by chance of birth.

But the small-town rural community I chose is changing. The farmers have, for the most part, sold to people from the city and fields are becoming lawns.

And, like the land, people, too, are becoming subdivided as difference breeds distance rather than discourse.

I have been making these videos to preserve and reconstitute what I can of a changing way of life and to share it with the community.

On a more personal level, I am making this website as a way of holding on to the reasons why I came here.

Stan Hirson

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