B-T7 Snapshots of Local History

Late 4 Week Class | Registration opens Saturday, August 1, 2026 12:00 AM

Elting Memorial Library 93 Main Street New Paltz, NY 12561 United States
Steinberg Room
10/20/2026-11/10/2026
10:30 AM-11:45 AM on Tue
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B-T7 Snapshots of Local History

Late 4 Week Class | Registration opens Saturday, August 1, 2026 12:00 AM

October 20 – Richard Heyl de Ortiz

Peculiar Institutions: The Poorhouse and Institution Movement in the Hudson Valley


The poorhouse movement, poorhouses and the “specialized” institutions that were born in their wake have much to teach us.  Beginning with the European almshouse, we will explore what poorhouses were, how they developed, who they were meant to serve and who they really benefitted. We’ll also delve into how the end of slavery, the “civilizing” of Native American children and shifting views around social concerns such as poverty, mental illness and intellectual disability all played into what became a robust industry of care, isolation and othering – and how the vestiges of this linger with us today


October 27 – Eddie Moran 

Enslaved Residents of the 1721 Jean Hasbrouck House


In this session, Eddie Moran will lead participants through recent research on Gerritt, James, Molly, and Hendrick, the earliest enslaved residents of the 1721 Jean Hasbrouck House on Huguenot St. Attendees will learn about their experiences in New Paltz as recorded in surviving 18th century documents and will discuss how they impacted and helped shape the early New Paltz community.


November 3 - Marilou Abramshe

The Building at 16 North Chestnut Street


Our lives are shaped by the patterns of people who lived long ago.  Researching the history of an historic building is like “above-ground archeology”. The building acts as a physical timeline, preserving history through its structural fabric, decorative layers, and surrounding context.  We learn not only about the building itself, but also about the people who built it and used it; what their lives were like, how they used the space, and what was important to them.

The story of the building at 16 North Chestnut Street gives us a glimpse of New Paltz and its people from 1862 to the present.


November 10 - Susan Stessin-Cohn

Bearing Witness


Susan Stessin-Cohn will share the website Bearing Witness, developed in connection with the Ulster County Truth and Reconciliation Commission that she and her colleague Ashley Hurbert Biagini created. Susan will reveal stories of a handful of notable Black residents of Ulster County, from the early days of enslavement under the Dutch and English, to the blossoming of free Black culture in the era following New York’s legal abolition of slavery in 1827.


Carole E Heyl

Carole holds multiple degrees in Earth Science, Business Administration and Computer Science. She taught Earth and Physical Science to 8th and 9th graders and was a Software Engineer at IBM for 30 years. She served on the Elting Memorial Library Board and presently has been a member of the LLI Council for 8 years. She has served as the Catalog Chairman for 5 years and presently serves as Publicity Chairman as well as Classroom Manager and member of the Curriculum Committee. She created and is Curriculum Chairman for LLI’s Winter Session.

Marilou Abramshe

Marilou Abramshe has shared various aspects of Ulster history with fellow members of LLI and other organizations.  On this, the semiquincentennial of the founding of the United States, she reviews how that pivotal moment helped shape the Ulster that we know today.


Richard Heyl de Ortiz

Richard Heyl de Ortiz is the Executive Director of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ+ Community Center and the former Director of Training and Program Support for Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of New York State (CASA) and the former Director of Programs and Marketing for Historic Huguenot Street. Richard serves on the Board of Directors of the Child Welfare League of America and the Elting Memorial Library. Richard developed a particular interest in poverty and systemic bias while serving as a Public Scholar with the New York Council of the Humanities (now called Humanities New York). 

Eddie Moran

He currently serves as the appointed Historian for Ulster County, NY. Eddie graduated with a B.A. in history from SUNY New Paltz in the Spring of 2020 and managed guided tours and historical interpretation at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz from 2022-2024. Eddie was appointed Ulster County Historian in September 2024. He is a lifelong resident of the New Paltz area, and a descendant of the town’s Huguenot and Dutch colonizers.

Susan Stessin-Cohn

Susan Stessin-Cohn is a former classroom teacher as well as a Professor of Education at SUNY New Paltz. She has been playing Mah Jongg for more than 20 years. Susan’s mother, Elaine Stessin, was known as the “Mah Jongg Maven.”  The team of Susan and Elaine taught a LLI class more than 15 years ago and are responsible for teaching many players in the area.