The Town of Thompson, Capelli Enterprises, Inc.; and Thunder 102 Radio provided a country western concert, playing to an estimated 1,000 people in the grandstands of the Mighty M Racino (aka Monticello Racetrack) for Sullivan County's bicentennial bash.

The musical event feature country-western musical lin-up including Iron Cowboy, Somerville Brothers, and Cowboy Crush.

"No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. "

To: Monticello Village Manager, Mayor, Trustees, Attorney, Clerk, and Others Whom It May Concern:

Following is an historical summary of residency requirements placed on past appointed Village Managers. Historically, the last person prior to one recent brief occupant of the office who was fired at the end of December, to be “permanently” appointed by the Board of Trustees as Village Manager who lived inside Village limits at the time of his hiring as Manager was Robert Norris of Lake Street, some 21 years ago in 1998.

NYS Village Law § 3-300(2)(a) permits the Board of Trustees to exempt any appointed Village officer who might otherwise be required to live within municipal limits from a residency requirement, provided the person lives within the county “in which the village is wholly or partially situated.” The Monticello Village Board has always complied with this law. Manager Zachary Kelson in 2008, Manager Raymond Nargizian in 2006, and Manager Richard Sush in 2001, were all specifically and lawfully authorized by resolution of the Board of Trustees to live outside the limits of the Village of Monticello. All three men were indeed and remain Sullivan County residents.

Then DPW Commissioner George Panchyshysn of Southwoods, appointed by the Board of Trustees in 1996 as “interim” Village Manager, was designated at the time as not permanent. Village Clerk Edith Schop was also named to act briefly as a temporary “acting” and “interim” Manager during 1994 and again in 1995. Ms. Schop, we know, lives in the Village, but the Board was clear on each occasion that her appointment was not permanent.

Middletown City Alderman Joseph Dwyer was hired permanently in 1999 as Monticello Village Manager, but resigned after 15 days citing “personal reasons”. Teaneck, New Jersey resident Manager Sheryl Shiber was permanently hired in 1997; Medford, Long Island resident Manager David Berner in 1995; Wallkill resident (former Wallkill Town Supervisor) Manager William Cummings in 1994; and Alamosa County, Colorado resident (and County Manager) James Malloy in 1992. Many of these people physically relocated to Monticello within a period specified by the Board of Trustees at the time they were hired. Whether or not to require residency at all, how much time to allow, and how strictly to monitor, has always been a Board decision.

In recent years, the Village of Monticello Board of Trustees has not made residency mandatory for the Village Manager, in part because it drastically reduces the pool of qualified applicants who are willing to accept the job.

In the future, the Board of Trustees may rest assured that historical precedent is definitely on your side on this issue. History confirms that under State law it is within the Village Board’s discretion to either require local residency for the Manager or not, provided that the individual lives within the boundaries of Sullivan County. You may have an excellent Manager candidate, for example, who prefers to live in the Town of Thompson or elsewhere. You as a Board have been empowered by the State Legislature to make this choice based on your collective wisdom and your good sense of what best serves the interests of the Village of Monticello.

This informational report is confined to the recent history of appointed Managers. Village Mayors who filled in for various interim periods when the Board may have preferred to leave the Manager post temporarily vacant, were obviously required to reside in the municipality in order to run and qualify for the office of Mayor. But once again, historically the decision of whether to appoint a Manager, or to let the Mayor fill in temporarily, has fallen under the lawful purview of the full Board of Trustees.

It is not and never has been an entitlement of the Mayor.

For further details and documentation, see history.tomrue.net/monticello/managers.

Respectfully submitted,

Tom Rue, Monticello Village Historian

dated April 9, 2009

At the reorganizational meeting of the Village of Monticello Board of Trustees held on Monday, April 6, 2009, a relatively minor item of business was the appointment of Tom Rue as Village Historian. The last time a Village Historian was named was 2004, in an appointment made by then Village Manager Richard Sush. To the best of my knowledge, based on a review of minutes, the Village Historian position appears to have been been vacant since 2005.

The next day I posted a Certified letter to the last gentleman known to occupy this position, and hand-delivered a copy to the Village Clerk. I cited the New York State Art and Cultural Affairs Law §57.09, which requires of local historians:

“He or she shall make an annual report, in the month of January, to the local appointing officer or officers and to the state historian of the work which has been accomplished during the preceding year. He or she shall, upon retirement or removal from office, turn over to the local county, city, town or village authorities, or to his or her successor in office, if one has been then appointed, all materials gathered during his or her incumbency and all correspondence relating thereto.”

I have not yet received a reply. I do not intend to pursue this request, except to note that if no reply is received, I will presume with all due respect to my predecessor, that it will appear he did nothing during his year as Village Historian, which is the only logical explanation for the absence of any materials gathered or any correspondence during his incumbency. If materials or correspondence are received hereafter, I will be sure to post an update to this article.

On the night of my appointment, I reported to the Board of Trustees:

1. First, on progress with clean-up and restoration of the abandoned Litts family cemetery adjacent to Sleepy Hollow Apartments, in cooperation with Town of Thompson Highway Superintendent Rich Benjamin, and an ongoing search for living descendants of persons buried there as requested by a principal of the corporation which recently purchased Sleepy Hollow Apartments in order to invite them to take part in an eventual planned "grand re-opening" ceremony; and
   
   

2. Second, I acknowledged the service to the community of Village employee and resident Alvin Dumas who has participated as a member of the Sullivan County Bicentennial Steering Committee, explaining that I am unable to attend these meetings because of work obligations. I asked the Board and Mr. Dumas in a letter, to kindly keep me informed of bicentennial activities as they may involve the Village of Monticello, promising to give him credit for work that he does.

I have begun compiling a list of links to transcriptions of local cemeteries that are available on the web, while attempting to make additional such records accessible to the public without charge. Other local history articles and documents that I have compiled over the years over the years are also hosted on my server.

Interested readers are also also pointed to the archive of Sullivan Retrospective articles by Sullivan County Historian John Conway, published regularly in The Sullivan County Democrat. I also plan to continue to publish occasional articles, on the web and/or in print, as well as offering periodic reports to Village officials and others related to local history, resources, and public education on such matters.

I signed the Oath Book today (April 13, 2009) in the presence of Village Manager Zachary Kelson and Clerk Edith Schop.

Public historical inquiries may be sent either by e-mail (quickest), to PO Box 706, Monticello, NY 12701 (moderate speed), or c/o Village Hall, 2 Pleasant Street, Monticello, NY 12701 (allow for possible delay). I will do my best to respond in a timely manner, including offering referrals to appropriate officials, agencies, or private researchers when indicated. Keep in mind, when making such requests for assistance or information, that the Village Historian is unpaid and has no public budget. If requesting a reply by mail, please include a post-paid pre-addressed return envelope.

Requests for public documents, including those of an historical nature, made pursuant to the NYS Freedom of Information Law should be addressed to the Village Clerk who is the person primarily responsible under the Monticello Village Code for complying with that section of the Public Officers Law.

While I make every effort to keep information that I post on this and other websites entirely accurate, mistakes can arise. If you discover any errors or important omissions, please e-mail me, including any evidence or references to support the correction you are proposing. I will be grateful for the opportunity to correct any mistakes that are brought to light.

On a personal note, with respect to matters involving local Freemasonry, I am also the county-wide Historian for the Sullivan Masonic District, of which the Right Worshipful John P. Wells is the District Deputy Grand Master. I am a past Master of Monticello Lodge #532, F&AM (2000-2002) and currently the lodge's Chaplain under Worshipful Master Bucky Laufersweiler.

Local History Related Links

• New York State Museum
• New York State Archives
• Information about Local Historians
• Association of Public Historians of New York State
• American Association for State and Local History
• Cemetery Law Manual: Laws & Regulations of the New York State Cemetery Board
• Edwin Olmstead, Petitioner, vs. the Town of Thompson Town Board, Respondent

Local Municipal and Related Websites

• Village of Monticello
• Monticello Joint Fire District history page
• Village Trustee Carmen Rue
• Town of Thompson and Town Historian Gerald Fielding
• Sullivan Retrospective by County Historian John Conway
• Sullivan County Historical Society
• County of Sullivan

The old work-horse of a web server that hosted the sites listed below and others, in some cases for the last 10 years or more, was limping on its last leg. It started by logging hard drive errors, and lately was rebooting itself every 15 minutes or so. The /usr directory swelled to 103%, mostly the result of a very large swap file. Response time, you may have noticed, was dramatically slowed. None of these are good signs. Finally, put from its misery, astarte was laid to a well-deserved rest.

I became curious a while back upon discovering that the back of the base of the Soldier and Sailor Monument on the lawn of the Lawrence H. Cooke Sullivan County Court House (under the soldier's feet) an inscription says, "To Sullivan County in memory of her Heroes from Pluma A. Niven".

I wondered what this meant, in contrast to the larger inscriptions beneath that the monument was donated "1895, Erected by the Board of Supervisors of Sullivan County from the free offerings of the loyal citizens".

Who was Pluma A. Niven, I wondered, and why did she merit special note on the monument?

This column by Sullivan County Historian John Conway appears in today's edition (July 25, 2008) of The Sullivan County Democrat. This is the second of a two-part series in Sullivan Retrospect on the subject, the first of which appeared last week. I e-mailed Mr. Conway after reading last week's column. He incorporated information that I sent him into his follow-up piece. Mr. Conway has written about this subject in the past, including at least two past Retrospect columns.

THE HIDDEN WOMAN MYSTERY ENDURES

By John Conway

July 25, 2008 - It has often been said, and written on occasion in this column, that few stories in Sullivan County’s history are as fascinating as that of the hidden woman of Monticello. Perhaps no one has been as fascinated by the saga as Tom Rue.

Rue, who has for years accumulated historical tidbits on his website, including a tantalizing quiz about local history that is currently running, and who was recently appointed the official historian for the Sullivan Masonic District, is a dogged researcher who has managed to put together more information on Melvin H. Couch and Adelaide Branch-- the key characters in Monticello’s hidden woman saga-- than anyone ever has, and intends to eventually publish a booklet about the affair.

Rue’s extensive research has helped to clarify the role that best-selling author Upton Sinclair played in Miss Branch’s life following the death of Couch just before Christmas in 1913, when her fifteen year long affair with the former district attorney became public and changed her life forever.

MONTICELLO – A forgotten Monticello graveyard has gotten a long-overdue cleanup. The Litts cemetery, on the boundary of Sleepy Hollow Apartments and Monticello High School, is the resting place of the remains of some of the area’s first European pioneers.

The stone of Daniel Litts lies flat on the ground, barely legible. He was christened 7 January 1772 in Shawangunk. Another stone memorializes Metje (Martha) Masten Litz of Wawarsing. They married 5 October 1795. She was christened 7 April 1776 in Shawangunk, making her 82 at her death. Their children were: Lea Litz, christened 26 January 1796; Johannis Litz, christened 6 August 1798, both in Wawarsing; and Isaac Litz, christened 11 February 1815 in Wurtsboro.

Download a copy of the original survey of the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike, Liber 18 of Deeds, pp. 325-336, filed 13 June 1807 in the Ulster County Court House at Kingston by William A. Thompson, Esq., first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, County of Ulster, State of New York. (11 pages, 16MB, Acrobat file). "The Breadth of Broadway" summary report to Village Attorney and short version given as public comment at the July 7th the Village of Monticello Board of Trustees meeting; relevant cases, and cover letter.

Click "Read More" for an historical summary and implications for planned Broadway renovations.

Win a free digital copy of the full, unexpurgated version of James Eldridge Quinlan's classic local history tome, The History of Sullivan County, 1873 edition, 655 pages.

Score 70% or better on this quiz to download your free e-book.

Test your knowledge of local history in preparation for the county's bicentennial in 2009.

The 25-item quiz is limited to no more than 15 minutes. There is no cost or obligation to try. Consider it an "open book" test, remembering that Google is your friend.

Click the image at right to take the quiz. If you don't pass on the first attempt, try again. You'll receive an e-mail reply within minutes telling you which items you got right, and correct answers for the rest.

NOTE: Feel free to tell others of this offer. But please link to this page, not directly to the quiz. Thanks.