History of the Gilboa Historical Society: The First 15 Years
Panel 3: Expansions of 1998–2013
Our first 15-year period seems to be a combination of the terrible 2s in some areas and mature progress in others. The former were generally the result of our not planning things out or avoiding what plans we might have had. but we did have a a few real advances.
Newsletters and Quarterlies
In 2007, our newsletters morphed into a series of 5.5 by 8.5-inch 40-page booklets of local history written by local authors. The inside back cover had a renewal form, and each address label indicated the membership status of the recipient.
They were immensely successful due to the content, were effective as a membership reminder 4 times per year, given away as a perk of Society membership, and underwritten by grants from the NYC DEP, NYPA, and the towns of Gilboa and Conesville.
The result: membership went from lower double-digits in 2007 to over 300 in 2012, and the cost of the program was more than covered by annual grant income.
All the Quarterlies are available for free download on this web site.
Agricultural equipment shed
During that same 15-year period, we had been receiving farm equipment whether we wanted it or not — from sleds and wagons to a drill press and all sorts of barn or shop tools.
We looked around for a way of displaying these items, and came up with the idea of constructing 2 sheds that could be constructed at the local BOCES, carried to the site, and spiked into a gravel base prepared by the Gilboa Highway Department.
The final steps were to place a roof over the two sheds and a central aisle, and then add sliding doors at the ends.
The original plans are on the top of this page, and can be drag-and-drop or saved-as to your computer.
Winning long-term champions
Reunions at the Gilboa-Conesville Central School were only held periodically (GCCS never did have large graduating classes). Nevertheless, the reunions were well organized, a lot of fun, and very well attended by graduates.
A reunion around 2008 followed this pattern, and one of the handouts given to the alumni was a copy of the current Quarterly. One of the grads evidently looked it over, liked what he saw, and in 2010 Nick Juried became a lifetime member in the Gilboa Historical Society.
In the Spring 2010 Quarterly was a sidebar saying “A new shed will house the farm equipment display this summer. It is being built by the students at the Board of Cooperative Educational Services [BOCES] in Grand Gorge. More information on that will be in the next newsletter.”
In the Summer 2010 Quarterly, an extensive article was written by Nick Juried, “A Remembrance of My Parents, John and Anna Juried.” And later that same year, Nick sent his first grant to the Gilboa Historical Society.
YOU can help!
We are currently asking for volunteers and content (text and photos) for each of these displays. Please contact Gerry Stoner if you have interesting content for any of these displays, or would like to work on an area of interest to you.
Navigating our pages
The narrow column on the right has three scroll-down windows (at the end of this window on your phone, pad, or tablet):
Current 2023 activities of the society.
A complete set of links to Facebook, social media, and our society’s web pages.
The benefits of the Gilboa Historical Society and how to join our association.
Please see our Facebook page or GilboaFossils.org for our current schedule.
Map for the Gilboa Museum.
GHS Facebook page
GilboaMuseum
Gilboa Museum Gift Shop
GHS Founders, Early Supporters
GHS Activities
GHS Facilities
GHS — Who We Are
Publications and Podcasts
Gilboa Fossils, a site of the Gilboa Historical Society.