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  • Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 567. One of the Earliest & Most Desirable Printed Maps of Arabia - by Holle/Germanus (1482) Est. $55,000 - $65,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 681. Zatta's Complete Atlas with 218 Maps in Full Contemporary Color (1779) Est. $27,500 - $35,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 347. MacDonald Gill's Landmark "Wonderground Map" of London (1914) Est. $1,800 - $2,100
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 1. Fries' "Modern" World Map with Portraits of Five Kings (1525) Est. $4,000 - $4,750
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 539. Ortelius' Superb, Decorative Map of Cyprus in Full Contemporary Color (1573) Est. $1,100 - $1,400
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 51. Mercator's Foundation Map for the Americas in Full Contemporary Color (1630) Est. $3,250 - $4,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 667. Manuscript Bible Leaf with Image of Mary and Baby Jesus (1450) Est. $1,900 - $2,200
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 226. "A Powerful Example of Color Used to Make a Point" (1895) Est. $400 - $600
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 290. One of the Most Decorative Early Maps of South America - from Linschoten's "Itinerario" (1596) Est. $7,000 - $8,500
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 62. Coronelli's Influential Map of North America with the Island of California (1688) Est. $10,000 - $12,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 589. The First European-Printed Map of China - by Ortelius (1584) Est. $4,000 - $5,000
  • Forum Auctions
    A Sixth Selection of 16th and 17th Century English Books from the Fox Pointe Manor Library
    19th June 2025
    Forum, June 19: Euclid. The Elements of Geometrie, first edition in English of the first complete translation, [1570]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum, June 19: Nicolay (Nicolas de). The Navigations, peregrinations and voyages, made into Turkie, first edition in English, 1585. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, June 19: Shakespeare source book.- Montemayor (Jorge de). Diana of George of Montemayor, first edition in English, 1598. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, June 19: Livius (Titus). The Romane Historie, first edition in English, translated by Philemon Holland, Adam Islip, 1600. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum Auctions
    A Sixth Selection of 16th and 17th Century English Books from the Fox Pointe Manor Library
    19th June 2025
    Forum, June 19: Robert Molesworth's copy.- Montaigne (Michel de). The Essayes Or Morall, Politike and Millitarie Discourses, first edition in English, 1603. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, June 19: Shakespeare (William). The Tempest [&] The Two Gentlemen of Verona, from the Second Folio, [Printed by Thomas Cotes], 1632. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, June 19: Boyle (Robert). Medicina Hydrostatica: or, Hydrostaticks Applyed to the Materia Medica, first edition, for Samuel Smith, 1690. £2,500 to £3,500.
    Forum, June 19: Locke (John). An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding in Four Books, first edition, second issue, 1690. £8,00 to £12,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    New York Book Week
    12-26 June
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Theocritus. Theocriti Eclogae triginta, Venice, Aldo Manuzio, February 1495/1496. 220,000 - 280,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, June 26: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby, 1925. 40,000 - 60,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, June 26: Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Printed ca. 1381-1832. 400,000 - 600,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, June 26: Lincoln, Abraham. Thirteenth Amendment, signed by Abraham Lincoln. 8,000,000 - 12,000,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, June 26: Galieli, Galileo. First Edition of the Foundation of Modern Astronomy, 1610. 300,000 - 400,000 USD

Rare Book Monthly

Articles - September - 2020 Issue

Growing Up in New Paltz, NY in the 1950’s

 

I have written here many times about my collection, the challenges in finding the missing pieces, the joys when one place is filled and it’s on to searching for the next. All collectors will understand what I mean. My focus is on the Mid-Hudson Valley of upstate New York, and in particular, the small town of New Paltz, where I grew up. Most people don't know New Paltz, but in the 1950s, it was in many ways Anytown U.S.A.

Some of you have wondered what this community was like, and why I seem so obsessed with it. It is hard to paint a picture of your hometown in words, but fortunately, my good friend and classmate who shared the experience of growing up there has done so better than I. I hope this will help explain to outsiders why I collect this community so passionately, and for those of you who do remember New Paltz in the 1950s and 1960s, it will fill you with memories. And with that, I turn the floor over to my friend and New Paltz High Class of '64 classmate, Keith Matteson.

 

Growing Up in New Paltz, NY in the 1950’s

 

I grew up in New Paltz, NY during the 1950’s. I lived outside the village so I had to be transported to most activities; school, shopping and friends. My world at this time was fairly limited to New Paltz and 10 miles around the area. The following is what I remember about those days to my best recollection.

 

I moved to New Paltz in 1952 from California.

 

The Village

The village started at the Wallkill River, extended up Main Street to approximately the present location of the Middle School. The State College bounded its south side and  J. D.’s Custard Stand and Agway bounded its north side. Main Street was the center of commerce; two banks, Zupp’s Drugstore, Carroll’s Department store, Movie theatre, Buddy’s, Pilches, P&G’s, the Library, the Homestead , a Grocery, Joe’s barber shop and Lane & Sargent’s 5 & 10 cents store. There were 2 lumber yards, New Paltz Lumber and A.P. LeFevere’s.  Badami’s fruit stand lay outside of town on what is now Cherry Hill Plaza. Also two small markets; Hotaling’s and Rinaudo’s. There were maybe two or three gas stations, and four churches.

 

There was no Thru-way or Rte. 299. The  Old New Paltz road wound its way through Ohioville, past Tantillo’s Market eventually finding its way to downtown Highland and the Mid-Hudson bridge to Poughkeepsie. Traveling to Poughkeepsie or Kingston was infrequent reserved for special occasions. Rhinebeck, Red Hook, Saugerties, Woodstock and Hurley were unknown to me.

 

I always wanted to ride my bike to town but was never allowed. Too dangerous and also sometimes I didn’t have a bike.

 

At a young age of 7 or 8 my memories centered around J. D’s for ice cream, Lane & Sargent’s for squirt guns, baseball cards, fire balls and disgusting wax figures with syrup inside. There was Carrol’s for shoes and a chance to look into the scope of the foot x-ray machine that never worked. I remember the grocery store with it’s wonderful smell of the coffee grinder and the fore-runner of the cashier’s moving belt; a wooden frame with a handle that moved your items closer to the cashier. There was a barn in back of Buddies where kids played pick-up games of basketball.

New Paltz had its own non-sanctioned Little League where Town teams would play other Town teams; Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox etc. played on the Campus School field. The field wasn’t fancy but did have a fence ; a wooden slat snow fence that leaned in and out.. There was sort of a pitching mound. Refreshments were in the form of soft drinks cooled in a kiddie swimming pool. None tasted better after the game. Sometime we would go past the Highland Little league on 9W. It was a “perfect park” which we longed for but never got. The “World Series” ended with a barbeque for the top two teams and awards such as belt buckles or tie clasps.

 

There was also Boy Scouts, troop 74 and troop 77. I was in troop 77, Bill Morris and Matty Fairweather the troop masters.

My grandmother lived on North Oakwood Terrace. So did Carol Bond. A lot of my friends lived on Tricor Avenue  next to the Campus School; Jerry Sullivan , Al Johnston, Nancy Culver, Steve Spenser, John Gibbons and several others. Herrington Street was a subdivision of newer homes.

New Paltz had one traffic light at the intersection of Main Street and Rte. 208. Frequently the village’s only cop would park his own white  Pontiac Bonneville at this intersection as a reminder to slow down. The former trolley tracks were easily seen embedded in Main St. as it extended up through the village. The hill by P& G’s was a two way street.

 

School

I went to the Campus School; grades kindergarten through 9th grade. We were real students used for practice teachers from the college. I had both Wicks sisters (Henrietta & Florence), Mrs. Tompkins, Mrs. Follette, Mrs. Hamilton, Mr. Myers, Mr. Jones, Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Oakley. I was a polio pioneer. I was on the Safety Patrol. I had Mr. Archard for PT and Mr. Ottosen for music. Mr. Bolas for science, Mr. Harrison for Art, Mrs. Garland for Home Ec. and Mrs. O’Donnell for French. Mr. Bond was the principal.

Mr. Bolas used to tell us to study hard or the Russians were going to get us. Mrs. Garland taught me to bake an apple pie, still do. Miss Wicks liked to read us the morning paper. I was fascinated when she tucked her hanky into her cleavage when not in use. Occasionally we would have Bomb Attack drills. Houses with bomb shelters were not unheard of.

I have some memories of this school as one year lead into another. One of them was the day Paul Blue died. On a brighter note was the day a student teacher decided to tickle us at lunch. We were having hamburgers. My classmate Frank had polio. He told the teacher he didn’t want to be tickled. The teacher persisted. Frank scooped up a spoonful of ketchup and … let fly with a direct hit on the teacher. No more tickling but poor frank got hauled off as we continued to laugh uncontrollably. I also remember the gym dance classes, my first close contact with girls…the foxtrot. School Dances were infrequent and terrifying to me. Tormenting Mrs. Neilson, the librarian, seemed like a regular event. I remember when the Catholic kids left early to go to religious classes. I wanted to go with them,  not to go to the classes but just to get out early.

 

We had a few field trips; Radio City Music Hall which included a movie and the Rockettes, the College camp, the Circus when one of the performers fell off his wire and a trip to a milk plant.

International night was big at the Campus School. Each class choose a country to represent and a dance to perform from that country. International Night was performed at the College Auditorium at night under the lights. A lot of fun.

There were many diversions at school. One I vividly remember is flipping baseball cards; a match game. Kids would bring their collections. Kids would face off with the first laying down as many cards as he dared risk flipping each from waist high. The card would land heads or tails. His opponent would be required to match every card on the ground, heads or tails. If the match was exact he won all the cards; if not he would lose all the cards. Kids got very skilled at flipping and each had his own technique. Three New cards cost a nickel in a pack of gum. The gum was usually thrown out. My mother threw my cards out when I was older, Urghh.

I was in the band trying to play the flute… very average quality but it was fun especially for concerts.

I rode the bus . It made one trip to pick up all the kids in my area and deliver them to the High School, the Campus school and St. Joseph’s Catholic School. The High School and Elementary School were in the same building which is now the Middle School. Discipline on the bus was swift and final. If a student misbehaved, the bus stopped and the student was escorted off the bus, left to walk home. My driver was frequently Mr. Van Gonsic who continually smoked a big cigar while he was driving. The bus route was wide. It would pick up kids along Albany-Post, Butterville, Mountain Rest Road  and continue on to the Ohioville area before delivering the kids to school. Art Stegen , lived near me but choose to run to school. He always beat the bus. When the “Flats” were flooded the bus would have to detour through Gardner.

 

 

Halloween

Halloween was an exciting holiday in New Paltz. I lived outside of town where there were few houses so getting candy on Halloween was not profitable. I was transported to go out trick or treating in town with my friends where there were plenty of houses and business was good. There was plenty of shaving cream, eggs and toilet paper to arm yourself against rival kids in costumes. Lots of fun. The next day one could see evidence on Main Street of the many soaped windows of store fronts; toilet paper and broken eggs all over.

 

Today I recognize New Paltz but I don’t know it very well. I have fond memories of what appears to me now as a very small and protected world of the time.


Posted On: 2022-05-14 19:26
User Name: rpgross13226

Hi Kieth -- Richard Gross here. I was just checking a few facts about my own time in New Paltz. Lots of good memories. Hope we can exchange emails. grossrp@gmail.com -- take care Rich


Posted On: 2023-01-20 13:01
User Name: wexlerd1

Hi Keith! Very interesting. I grew up New Paltz in the sixties (HS class of '73). Not much had changed from your time, so your descriptions resonated with me. FYI I lived on the Cherry Hill block until '69 before we moved to Springtown Rd.


Posted On: 2023-06-08 22:18
User Name: jphilips1@gmail.com

Would love to chat about New Paltz, late 1950's. Any ideas


Rare Book Monthly

  • Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    June 18 & 19
    Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First Editions
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: World. Van Geelkercken (N.), Orbis Terrarum Descriptio Duobis..., circa 1618. £4,000-6,000.
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Moll (Herman). A New Exact Map of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain..., circa 1715. £2,000-3,000.
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Churchill (Winston S.). The World Crisis, 5 volumes bound in 6, 1st edition, 1923-31. £1,000-1,500
    Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    June 18 & 19
    Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First Editions
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Darwin (Charles). On the Origin of Species, 2nd edition, 2nd issue, 1860. £1,500-2,000.
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Roberts (David). The Holy Land, 6 volumes in 3, 1st quarto ed, 1855-56. £1,500-2,000.
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Saint-Exupéry (Antoine de, 1900-1944). Pilote de guerre (Flight to Arras), 1942. £10,000-15,000.
    Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    June 18 & 19
    Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First Editions
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Austen (Jane, 1775-1817). Signature, cut from a letter, no date. £7,000-10,000
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Huxley (Aldous). Brave New World, 1st edition, with wraparound band, 1932. £4,000-6,000
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Tolkien (J. R. R.) The Hobbit, 1st edition, 2nd impression, 1937. £3,000-5,000
    Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    June 18 & 19
    Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First Editions
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Rackham (Arthur, 1867-1939). Princess by the Sea (from Irish Fairy Tales), circa 1920. £4,000-6,000
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Kelmscott Press. The Story of the Glittering Plain, Walter Crane's copy, 1894. £3,000-4,000
    Dominic Winter, June 18-19: King (Jessie Marion, 1875-1949). The Summer House, watercolour. £4,000-6,000
  • Bonhams, June 16-24: KELMSCOTT PRESS. RUSKIN. The Nature of Gothic. 1892. $1,500 - $2,500
    Bonhams, June 16-24: ASHENDENE PRESS. The Wisdom of Jesus. 1932. $2,000 - $3,000
    Bonhams, June 16-24: CHARLOTTE BRONTE WRITES AS GOVERNESS. Autograph Letter Signed, 1851. $15,000 - $25,000
    Bonhams, June 16-24: FIRST AMERICAN EDITION OF WUTHERING HEIGHTS. BRONTE, Emily. New York, 1848. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, June 16-24: IAN FLEMING ASSOCIATION COPY. You Only Live Twice. London, 1964. $7,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, June 16-24: DELUXE EDITION WITH ORIGINAL PAINTING. BUKOWSKI, Charles. War All the Time. 1984. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, June 16-24: EINSTEIN'S MOST POWERFUL STATEMENT ON THE ATOMIC BOMB. Original Typed Manuscript Signed, "On My Participation in the Atom Bomb Project," 1953. $100,000 - $150,000
    Bonhams, June 16-24: EINSTEIN ON SCIENCE, WAR AND MORALITY. Autograph Letter Signed, 1949. $20,000 - $30,000
    Bonhams, June 16-24: SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. WASHINGTON, George. Engraved document signed, 1786. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, June 16-24: AN EARLY CHINESE-MADE 34-STAR U.S. CONSULAR FLAG. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, June 16-24: SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH OF LINCOLN WITH HIS SON TAD. 1864. $60,000 - $90,000
    Bonhams, June 16-24: MALCOLM X WRITES FROM KENYA. Postcard signed, 1964. $4,000 - $6,000
  • Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: ALIGHIERI, DANTE / LANDINO, CRISTOFORO. Comento di Christophoro Landino Fiorentino sopra la Comedia di Danthe Alighieri poeta fiorentino, 1481. €40,000 to €50,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: ALIGHIERI, DANTE. La Commedia [Commento di Christophorus Landinus]. Aggiunta: Marsilius Ficinus, Ad Dantem gratulatio [in latino e Italiano], 1487. €40,000 to €60,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: ALIGHIERI, DANTE. Il Convivio, 1490. €20,000 to €25,000.
    Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: BANDELLO, MATTEO. La prima [-quarta] parte de le nouelle del Bandello, 1554. €7,000 to €9,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: LEGATURA – PLUTARCO. Le vies des hommes illustres, grecs et romaines translates, 1567. €10,000 to €12,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: TOLOMEO, CLAUDIO. Ptolemeo La Geografia di Claudio Ptolemeo Alessandrino, Con alcuni comenti…, 1548. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: FESTE - COPPOLA, GIOVANNI CARLO. Le nozze degli Dei, favola [...] rappresentata in musica in Firenze…, 1637. €6,000 to €8,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: SPINOZA, BARUCH. Opera posthuma, 1677. €8,000 to €12,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: PUSHKIN, ALEXANDER. Borus Godunov, 1831. €30,000 to €50,000.
    Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: LIBRO D'ARTISTA - LECUIRE, PIERRE. Ballets-minute, 1954. €35,000 to €40,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: LIBRO D'ARTISTA - MAJAKOVSKIJ, VLADIMIR / LISSITZKY, LAZAR MARKOVICH. Dlia Golosa, 1923. €7,000 to €10,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: LIBRO D'ARTISTA - MATISSE, HENRI / MONTHERLANT, HENRY DE. Pasiphaé. Chant de Minos., 1944. €22,000 to €24,000.
  • Bonhams, June 16-25: 15th-CENTURY TREATISE ON SYPHILIS. GRÜNPECK. 1496. $20,000 - $30,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: THE NORMAN COPY OF BENIVIENI'S TREATISE ON PATHOLOGY. 1507. $12,000 - $18,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: FRACASTORO. Syphilis sive Morbus Gallicus. 1530. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: THE FIRST PUBLISHED WORK ON SKIN DISEASES. MERCURIALIS. De morbis cutaneis... 1572. $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: BIDLOO. Anatomia humani corporis... 1685. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: THE NORMAN COPY OF DOUGLASS'S EARLY AMERICAN WORK ON INNOCULATION AND SMALLPOX. 1722. $20,000 - $30,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: LIND'S FIRST TREATISE ON SCURVY. 1753. $15,000 - $20,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: RARE JENNER SIGNED CIRCULAR ON VACCINATION. 1821. $4,000 - $6,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: MOST BEAUTIFUL OF MEDICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. BRIGHT. Reports of Medical Cases... 1827-1831. $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE PRESENTATION COPY TO HER MOTHER. 1860. $6,000 - $8,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: LORENZO TRAVER'S MANUSCRIPT JOURNAL OF BURNSIDE'S NORTH CAROLINA EXPEDITION. TRAVER, Lorenzo. $2,000 - $3,000
    Bonhams, June 16-25: ONE OF THE EARLIEST PHOTOGRAPHIC BOOKS ON DERMATOLOGY. HARDY. Clinique Photographique... 1868. $3,000 - $5,000

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