In 1845, a feudal land system that had survived the American Revolution finally met its match in the hills above Andes, New York — and the clash left a county undersheriff dead and hundreds of farmers under arrest. The Anti-Rent War was a massive, organized uprising that had been building since the late 1830s and swept across upstate New York — yet it remains largely unknown outside this region.

Victoria Kupchinetsky and Misha Gutkin are Russian-born journalists who stumbled upon the story at an Andes community day parade — and couldn't let it go. The result is Calico Rebellion, a documentary that centers the voices of local descendants, historians, and storytellers to bring this "final chapter of the American Revolution" back to life.

We talk about the patroon system and its perpetual leases that kept tenant farmers from ever owning the land they cleared; the Calico Indians, disguised farmers who donned homemade masks and calico dresses to resist rent collectors; the dinner horns repurposed as an alarm network; and the fatal confrontation on Dingle Hill that set off a chain of trials, pardons, and ultimately, legislative reform.

Victoria and Misha also reflect on what it meant — as immigrants from the Soviet Union — to dig into this forgotten corner of American democracy, and what the Anti-Rent War says about the ongoing work of keeping a democratic system alive.

Visit calicorebellion.com for Calico Rebellion screenings, events, and info.

What did Beethoven's piano actually sound like? At the Catskill Mountain Foundation's Piano Performance Museum in Hunter, New York, you don't have to wonder — you can sit down and play one.

Brett Barry visits the museum at the Doctorow Center for the Arts with performing arts director Pam Weisberg and docent Stacey Bowers, who guide him through dozens of historic instruments spanning three centuries — from a mid-18th century French harpsichord to a nine-foot Baldwin concert grand that once traveled with Liberace.

Along the way: the difference between a harpsichord's pluck and a piano's strike, why Beethoven's piano had four strings per key, the short life of the American square piano, and what it means to let the instrument tell you what it can do.

The museum is open Saturdays 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; group tours available by arrangement. For performances, schedules, and more: catskillmtn.org/piano-performance-museum

Singer‑songwriter Steve Koester, the creative force behind Two Dark Birds, joins Brett in the Kaatscast studio for a deep, generous conversation about songwriting, place, and the long arc of making music in the Catskills. With the band’s fifth studio album, Dreamers of the Golden Dream, Vol. 1, arriving February 27, Steve reflects on the evolution of his sound—from full‑band records to quiet, introspective work and back again—and how living in the mountains continues to shape his writing.

Steve shares the origin story of Two Dark Birds, the move from New York City to the Catskills, the band’s shifting lineup, and the role of analog recording in a digital world. He talks about the emotional terrain behind songs like “Born to Fall,” “Good Boy Good,” and “Kid, I’m Fried,” and performs several tracks live in the studio.

The conversation also explores the realities of releasing music in 2026, the joys and limits of streaming platforms, the resurgence of vinyl, and the creation of Steve’s independent label, Vfib Records. 

Music Featured

• “Born to Fall” — live in studio

• “Good Boy Good” — from Dreamers of the Golden Dream, Vol. 1

• “Kid, I’m Fried” — live in studio

• “Girl of Summer” — album track (closing)

Links & Resources

• Two Dark Birds — ⁠⁠https://twodarkbirds.com⁠⁠

• Vfib Recordings — ⁠⁠https://www.vfibrecordings.com⁠⁠

• The Woods Studio (Todd Adelman) — ⁠⁠https://thewoods.studio⁠⁠

• Bearsville Theater — ⁠⁠https://bearsvilletheater.com⁠⁠

Photo credit: Sam Erickson

In our last episode we took a ride on the old Ulster & Delaware rails with Rail Explorers, a pedal bike experience in Phoenicia, NY. This week, we're at the neighboring Empire State Railway Museum, at home in the historic 1899 Phoenicia train station since 1983, for a look back at Catskills railroad history. Curator Tom  Comito tells us about the 1913 peak of travel on these tracks, restoration projects underway, and the museum's evolving relationship with rail tourists.

Many thanks to our sponsors:

Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway
Hanford Mills Museum
Briars & Brambles Books
The Mountain Eagle 

From the late 19th- to the early 20th-century, passengers could board an Ulster & Delaware train in Kingston and ride straight up through the Catskills, to Oneonta. These days, you can still experience a 4-mile stretch of that track, between Mt. Tremper and Phoenicia, with one small caveat. You have to pedal! Rail Explorers has repurposed a few such stretches of track nationwide, including in Rhode Island, Cooperstown, Las Vegas, and the Catskills. Join us as we pedal a "quad explorer" (the "Cadillac" of the fleet) on a scenic "River Run" tour above the Esopus creek.

We'll hear from Catskills division manager Casey Farrell, tour guide Fatima Duque, and Empire State Railway Museum curator Tom Comito. Lots more from Tom in our next episode, so stay tuned!

Many thanks to our sponsors:
The Mountain Eagle
Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway
Hanford Mills Museum
Briars and Brambles Books

Long before "THE" concert so closely associated with Woodstock, "Maverick Concerts" have been delighting fans of classical music for more than 100 years. We sat in the historic concert hall with music director Alexander Platt to hear about the history of the utopian Maverick art colony, the concert series that stemmed from it, and some 21st-century improvements to the Maverick experience. Plus, a look back at a groundbreaking John Cage composition that premiered at Maverick concert hall 70 years ago this month. For that, we get insights from music journalist and composer Kyle Gann. 

Interested in taking in a Maverick concert? Here's a link for upcoming events and tickets.
And to learn more about John Cage's 4'33", check out Gann's book, No Such Thing as Silence.

Thank you to our sponsors:
Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce
Hanford Mills Museum
The Mountain Eagle

Earlier this summer, we joined dozens of auto enthusiasts for a 135-mile loop on the Schoharie Turnpike - Kaaterskill Clove Road Rally, one in a series of rallies that pairs Catskills scenery and history with the love of driving. Join us as we drive the northern Catskills in some unique and well-loved automobiles. More drives in September and October! To join in the fun, check out all 4 Catskills rallies at Historic Automobile Endurance Runs. 

Thanks to our sponsors:

Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway
Hanford Mills Museum
The Mountain Eagle

Stephen Sautner is a lifelong fisherman, environmental activist, and the author of several books on those topics. And while his passion for fishing has taken him to the Falkland Islands, Cuba, the Zambezi River, and even ... New Jersey, a rustic fishing cabin in Hancock, New York, is Stephen's happy place. Tune it to hear Stephen's thoughts on trout, Catskills living, and being a steward of the places we love.

Thanks to our sponsors:

Hanford Mills Museum
Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce
The Mountain Eagle

Kaatscast was voted BEST REGIONAL PODCAST in the 2022 Chronogrammies! 

Anne Hall's addiction to flower growing is a boon to Catskills designers, florists, restaurants, and individuals who want locally grown, chemical-free flowers in another league from generic supermarket fare. In February, we put out an episode on Jarita's, a local florist serving the Catskills for 45 years. One of our listeners heard that episode and said, hey, how about a story on a local grower? Well, we love to hear from listeners, and we were interested to know more about Catskills flower farms, and so here we are! Crespell is a queer women-owned flower farm and CSA in Lexington, NY.

Many thanks to our sponsors: The Mountain Eagle, the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway, and Hanford Mills Museum.

If you're looking for a unique way to experience Catskills views, there's no better time to check out the Catskills' 6 hiker-accessible fire towers! The 2022 Catskills Fire Tower Challenge encourages hikers to visit all 6, with the added bonus of a challenge patch, a subscription to Conservationist magazine, and other prizes. 

We met with the Catskill Center's Olivia Bernard, a Visitor Experience Coordinator at the Catskills Visitor Center, for a rundown of the challenge, a little fire tower history, and a climb to the top of the Upper Esopus fire tower, right there on the visitor center's property in Mt. Tremper, NY. 

If you want to hear about a 7th fire tower coming back online, check out our story from Bramley Mountain. 

Thanks to our sponsors:
The Mountain Eagle
The Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway
Hanford Mills Museum 

Just a few years ago, the coveted Catskills "cabin on 5 acres" was priced at $300,000, give or take. Today, that same property could easily cost you double. Real estate in the Catskills is booming, and while housing markets ebb and flow, according to realtor Peggy Bellar, there's no significant retraction in the forecast. Bellar showed us three properties in Delaware County as a sampling of today's housing inventory. Come along for the ride and join our tour, plus listen in on the latest trends shaping the housing market, including short-term rental investments, and work-from-home professionals embracing the country life. 

Thanks to the Catskill Dream Team, and to our sponsors:
The Mountain Eagle, Hanford Mills Museum, and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce

If a tick bites you in the woods, and it's free of disease-causing pathogens, does it matter? We wanted to know how many of our Catskills ticks are pathogenetic, so we sent 6 of them to the Thangamani Lab at Upstate Medical University, in Syracuse, NY. You, too, can send any New York tick, and Dr. Thangamani and his team will test it (for free!) for Lyme disease-causing bacteria, and 16 additional pathogens. It's all part of a massive citizen science research initiative tracking distribution of species and pathogens statewide. You can explore those trends using Dr. Thangamani's tick maps, updated daily by county. NYticks.org is also where forms can be found to submit your own tick(s) for testing. Let us know how it goes! 

Thanks to our sponsors: Hanford Mills Museum, the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway, and The Mountain Eagle.

Ed Ullmann is the owner and pharmacy manager of Wellness Rx, a holistic and patient-centered pharmacy in Tannersville, and soon ... Phoenicia! Far from the chain store aesthetic (or lack thereof) the Tannersville location where we met is a meticulously painted Victorian with a wraparound porch. Inside there's a warm general store vibe, with wood floors and pharmacy cases, and a diverse inventory of traditional, natural, and holistic medicine; plus home goods, gifts, and crafts by dozens of local vendors. Ed Ullmann showed us around, and then we settled into a comfortable consultation room, to hear his vision for sustainable rural healthcare.

Thanks to our sponsors: Hanford Mills Museum, the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway, and The Mountain Eagle.

Please vote for Kaatscast now through May 15th in the Chronogrammies for "best regional podcast."

In this episode, we visit Pogliani Select, purveyors of artisanal, estate‑grown olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars sourced directly from small family farms across Italy and Croatia. From the hills of Tuscany and the groves along the Adriatic to a tasting room in the Catskills, we explore how these Old‑World traditions travel across continents — and why the craft behind them matters.

This conversation is part tasting, part education, and part journey into the people, places, and practices that shape truly exceptional oils and balsamics.

What We Cover

🫒 The origins of Pogliani Select and how they curate estate‑grown oils and balsamics

🫒 What “estate‑grown” and “small‑batch” actually mean — and why they matter

🫒 How to taste olive oil and balsamic like a pro

🫒 Why the Catskills are a natural home for a Mediterranean tasting experience

🫒 Stories from the Italian and Croatian producers behind the bottles

🫒 How education shapes Pogliani Select’s mission as purveyors

🫒 Tips for choosing and using high‑quality oils and balsamics at home

About Pogliani Select

Pogliani Select partners directly with multi‑generation family farms, importing oils and balsamics that reflect place, tradition, and meticulous craft. Their mission blends purveying with educating — helping people understand not just what they’re tasting, but the heritage behind it.

Takeaway

This episode is an invitation to slow down, taste with intention, and appreciate the craftsmanship behind oils and balsamics that carry centuries of tradition — now poured and shared in the Catskills.

Cover image credit: Meigan Arnone

In 2020, Leslie T. Sharpe came to Silver Hollow Audio to narrate The Quarry Fox: and other Critters of the Wild Catskills, available at Libro.fm or wherever you get your audiobooks. Then the pandemic hit. Two years later, she returned to our studios for a reading of "The Bluebird Chronicles: a Catskills Romance." 

In this episode, we sat down with Leslie to fill in some of the gaps between then and now, and to talk birds, bats, and butterflies, plus ways we can all be stewards of the Catskills and its diverse ecosystem. In fact, Leslie was named one of the "50 Stewards of the Catskills" by the Catskill Center in 2019. 

Kaatscast was nominated for "best regional podcast" by Chronogram. Click here to vote for us through May 15th! And check out our new site, with a searchable database of shows, links to our sponsors, a newsletter signup, and more!

This episode was sponsored by The Mountain Eagle and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce.

The winter/spring 2022 issue of Appalachia, "America's longest-running journal of mountaineering and conservation," features an essay by Catskills writer Leslie T. Sharpe about our little blue harbinger of spring: the bluebird. In this episode, we have the exclusive audio edition! Leslie narrated her piece for Kaatscast, and we present it here in full. 

Don't forget to tune in next time for a followup interview with Leslie T. Sharpe, author of The Quarry Fox: and other Critters of the Wild Catskills. 

Thanks to our sponsors: The Mountain Eagle, and the 52-mile Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway.

Check out our new and expanded website for a searchable directory of episodes, links to show sponsors, and a mailing list signup!
Kaatscast scored a Chronogrammies nomination for "best regional podcast" –– please vote now through May 15th for the win!

Beaverkill Trout Hatchery is family owned and operated by the Shaver family since 1963. We met Sherry Shaver and a few of her relatives on a recent visit to the hatchery, where they were preparing for their busiest season, as fishing clubs order thousands of fish to stock streams and ponds, plus direct sales to area restaurants, and the public.

Thanks to our sponsors: The Mountain Eagle and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce. 

On March 19th, 2022, a Pierogi and Borscht fundraiser at the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Jewett, NY, brought in thousands of dollars for the people of Ukraine. We spent some time in the kitchen with organizer Switlana Breigle, parishioners, and volunteers with deep connections to Ukraine. This fundraiser supports the efforts of the Ukrainian American Freedom Coalition, "providing material and logistic assistance to the Ukrainian people in need of help with humanitarian supplies." There are already plans underway for another event soon.

Photo by Megan Sperry.

Working for Women is a Catskills-based organization working nationwide to connect business dollars and resources with non-profits advocating for women in the workforce and toward financial independence. We sat down with Catskills native Beth Bengtson, CEO and founder of Working for Women, for a discussion on the challenges her organization is addressing, why focusing on women improves everyone's work lives, plus Beth's preference for active outdoor meetings. This episode was co-hosted by Ulster County legislator Megan Sperry and recorded at SUNY New Paltz's Sojourner Truth Library. 

Producer and host: Brett Barry
Audio engineer: Jared Lyman

Sponsors: The Mountain Eagle and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce

Kaatscast was named one of the Best 25 New York Podcasts in 2022. 

This year, The Mountain Eagle celebrates 40 years of newspaper publishing, and a relaunch in 2017 brought expanded coverage to Schoharie, Delaware, Greene, and northern Ulster counties. Join us for a conversation with publisher Matt Avitabile on local Catskills journalism and the nuts and bolts of creating and distributing a weekly paper in an increasingly digital age.

Thanks to our sponsor: the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway
Production intern: Jared Lyman

Want to help us grow our audience? Please tell your friends and family about this podcast, and stay in the loop with our twice-a-month newsletter!

Delaware County artist Jessica Farrell was inspired by her aunt's journal from the 1960s and '70s to create "The Wilderness Journal," a series of portraits of adolescents who would go on to struggle with mental health issues. These portraits, in addition to a companion book and an audio narration of aunt Barbara's journal excerpts, is now on exhibit at the Roxbury Arts Center, in Roxbury, NY. Join us for this special program on mental health, advocacy, and art in the Catskills.

Thanks to our sponsors: the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce and The Mountain Eagle

Also mentioned:
The National Alliance on Mental Illness

Snowy weather can be a challenge for Valentine's Day rose delivery, but that's nothing new for Woodstock's Jarita's florist, with 45 years of experience delivering fresh, professionally arranged flowers to Catskills residents. On today's Kaatscast, an interview with the owners of Jarita's on decades of flower sales in Woodstock, NY; how the business has changed; and their unique interactions with the community. 

This episode was recorded by Keith Kortright and sponsored by the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce and Hanford Mills Museum.

Gina Carbonari is a retired U.S. Marine with a new mission. As executive director of the 130-year-old Ulster County SPCA, she's ensuring that the  homeless, abused, and neglected animals there are cared for, sheltered, and readied for adoption. Join us on a tour and meet some of the cats, dogs, and smaller critters safeguarded in Kingston, NY, as they await their new families.

Recordist: Keith Kortright
Sponsors: Hanford Mills Museum and the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway

Tannersville, NY, is a small mountain village, with big aspirations. And now, with the help of a very large grant from New York State, it's preparing for a basket of revitalization projects that would surely put a smile on Rip Van Winkle's face. We sat down with The Hunter Foundation's Sean Mahoney and Amy Scheibe for some backstory on this major award, and the various partners working toward a more vibrant, equitable, and connected community.

Thanks to our sponsors: Hanford Mills Museum and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce

In this special long‑form conversation, Brett Barry sits down with legendary angler‑writer and publisher Nick Lyons, now 93, whose life has been shaped by water, words, and the Catskills. From a childhood spent catching frogs for pocket money to founding one of the most influential fishing imprints in America, Nick’s story is a rare blend of grit, curiosity, and literary devotion.

Recorded in Nick’s home in Woodstock, this episode traces his journey from the Bronx to the Beaverkill, from boarding school loneliness to the rhythms of trout streams, from early rejections to a flourishing writing and publishing career. Along the way, Nick reflects on family, loss, love, teaching, and the deep satisfactions of a life lived close to rivers.

In This Episode

• Growing up in the Bronx with Yiddish‑speaking grandparents and bachelor uncles

• Boarding school memories and discovering fishing at Ice Pond

• Summers at the Laurel House in Haines Falls — frogs, creeks, and Catskills lore

• Seeing the Hindenburg fly overhead as a child

• A difficult stepfather and moves from Mount Vernon to Brooklyn

• The Army years and the beginnings of serious reading

• Falling in love with literature at the New School, Bard, and the University of Michigan

• Meeting Mari — art, shyness, and a life partnership

• Early writing struggles and a breakthrough with Field & Stream

• Finding his voice: earthy, nimble, wry, and rooted in lived experience

• Fishing the Catskills — rhythms, hatches, freestone rivers, and memory

• Why salmon fishing never clicked

• Teaching for decades while building a parallel career in publishing

• Reviving classic fishing literature and launching The Lyons Press

• The rise of Sportsman’s Classics and the explosion of modern fly‑fishing writing

• Why he eventually stopped fishing and what he misses most

Nick Lyons is one of the most influential figures in American angling literature — but his story is far larger than fishing. It’s about reinvention, persistence, and the way a life can be shaped by curiosity and attention. This episode captures a voice that is warm, reflective, and still sharp with humor and insight.

Links & References

• Nick Lyons’s memoir Fire in the Straw

• The Seasonable Angler

• Nick's presentation at the Jerry Bartlett Angling Collection

• Mari Lyons Studio

Recycling is a great way to reduce the (many) truckloads of trash bound for distant landfills, but "wishcycling," the practice of throwing questionable items into the blue bin and HOPING they'll be recycled, is problematic, too. The Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency's Angelina Brandt lent us some hardhats and gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of UCRRA's bustling Kingston facility.

Thanks to our production intern, Keith Kortright, for recording our tour. 

And thanks to our local sponsors:
The Mountain Eagle
Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway

Feeling sleepy? CO2 could be the culprit. For centuries, the Catskills have offered a respite from city life, and a bit of fresh air. But indoor air quality can be bad no matter where you live. Fortunately, air quality can be measured, and steps taken to get that indoor Catskills air more in line with outdoor Catskills air, for health and wellness. For more, we connected with IAQ expert Ljeta Putāne and local citizen scientist Liz Potter.  Thanks to our sponsors: The Mountain Eagle, and the Catskill Mts. Scenic byway. Kaatscast is a production of Silver Hollow Audio.

It's hunting season in the Catskills, and even if you're not a hunter, you'll want to hear our interview with Tim Byron, a longtime friend with an infectious love for hunting, fishing, camping, and observing Catskills wildlife. A few years back, he started a YouTube series called "Fins - feathers -furs - and the great outdoors"-- documenting hunting and fishing trips,  family excursions, birding, cooking, and lots more. 

Thanks to our sponsors: The Mountain Eagle, and the Catskill Mts. Scenic byway. Our interview was recorded by production intern, Keith Kortright. Kaatscast is a production of Silver Hollow Audio. 

As daylight shortens and temperatures fall, many of us in the Catskills turn to our wood stoves to help keep warm. "Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice," the old adage goes. But if you don't chop your own wood? Make sure it was chopped locally! In this episode, New York State Department of Environmental Protection's Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health Bureau Chief Justin Perry joined us for a conversation on firewood, Catskills trees, and the threats our forests face. 

Check out the DEC's new film, Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species. 

Thanks to Dixon Roadside and the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway for their support!

This week, we spoke with author Christine Wade about her retelling of a classic Catskills ghost story. In 1819 Washington Irving published his tale of Rip Van Winkle, who wanders off into the woods to escape his nagging wife, and meets up with the ghosts of Henry Hudson and his crew. They bowl, they drink, and ... Rip falls asleep for 20 years. If you don't know the story, it's a quick read and an iconic piece of Catskills folklore.

Cut to the 21st century, when Christine Wade, real-life resident of Rip Van Winkle country, wrote an historical novel called Seven Locks, featuring a character remarkably similar to Rip, the lazy husband of a hard-working wife in the pre-Revolutionary War Dutch Catskills.

This interview was produced in association with Catskill Historical Views, an audio companion to Catskill Tri-County Historical Views, published by the Gilboa Museum & Juried History Center. With support from the Zadock Pratt Museum.

For more than a century, New York City has relied on the Catskills for its abundant supply of clean, soft drinking water. The Catskills' relationship with NYC has been a complicated one, including the staggering loss of entire communities, and a multitude of mutual benefits along the way.

This week, Adam Bosch recounts the history of that relationship, plus we hear from the Olive Free Library's Melissa McHugh on an exhibit showcasing life before the Ashokan reservoir. Then, we check in with with Lize Mogel, producer of a comprehensive new tour of the watershed.

Each year, hundreds of injured birds arrive at Annie Mardiney's doorstep for a second chance at life in the wild. When she isn't rescuing birds, Annie's running educational programs, with companion raptors like Peregrine Falcon Meng, pictured. We spoke with her (Annie, not Meng) at a talk she gave at the John Burroughs' Woodchuck Lodge. Hear her story, plus advice for helping injured wildlife. 

Thanks to our sponsors: Dixon Roadside and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce

For a list of wildlife rehabilitators near you, visit the DEC directory.

This week... it's the only mammal capable of flight. And it can catch 1000 mosquitos in an hour! We're talking bats with Catskill Mountainkeeper’s Senior Research Director, Kathy Nolan, who joined me among the little brown bats of Shandaken, NY.

Thanks to our sponsors: the Catskill Center; and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce, hosting the 17th annual Cauliflower Festival.

Thanks also to Robert Burke Warren, for the use of his song, "It's a Bat!" And to Raimund Specht, Avisoft Bioacoustics, for the bat recordings.

On May 11, 2019, the Phoenicia Library presented live, Outdoor Guides of the Catskills: The “Adventure Experts” -- this is a recording of that presentation, featuring Will Soter, co-founder of Upstate Adventure Guides and the president of the New York State Outdoor Guide Association (NYSOGA); Legendary fishing guide Hank Rope, owner of Big Indian Guide Service; Lifelong angler and expert guide Cliff Schwark, a founder of the Catskill Mt. Chapter of Trout Unlimited; and Patty Rudge, the first woman to serve as a full time NYS Forest Ranger.

Since the early 1800’s, New York’s guides have been leading visitors into the wild areas of our beautiful state. Back in the day, colorful characacters like Orson “Old Mountain” Phelps and other local outdoorsmen plied their trade as fishing and hunting guides to the wealthy robber barons of the Adirondack Great Camps. By 1924, New York required guides to be licensed, in an effort to reduce fires, enforce conservation laws, curb hunting abuses and enhance enjoyment of the outdoors. Today, the tradition continues, and licensed guides are available for outdoor adventure opportunities like whitewater, rock climbing, snowshoeing and nature studies, in addition to fishing and hunting.

Thanks to our sponsors: the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway and the Catskill Center. 

Need water? Choose a random spot, drill, and drill some more, until you hit water. However, if you want to pinpoint the ideal location for clean, clear water, with minimal drilling, you might consider hiring a dowser like Bill Getz to survey the land. Hear about this age-old craft that combines sticks and rods with intuition, a connection to nature, and perhaps a dose of psychic energy.

This episode of Kaatscast is supported by Dixon Roadside and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce.

Recorded at the John Burroughs' Woodchuck Lodge, as part of their Wild Saturdays series.

New York State Historic Newspapers Project with Chuck Henry

Episode Overview

Dive into the largest state newspaper archive in the country! Chuck Henry, Project Lead for New York State Historic Newspapers, takes us through this incredible digital repository containing over 1,200 newspaper titles, 1.5 million editions, and more than 15 million pages—all available free of charge.

Guest

Chuck Henry

IT Coordinator, Northern New York Library Network

Project Lead, New York State Historic Newspapers

What You'll Learn

🗞️ How the project transformed microfilm archives into a searchable digital collection

🗞️ The breadth of the collection: from 1725 to 2025, covering all 62 New York counties

🗞️ Tips and tricks for searching the database effectively

🗞️ Why this matters for genealogists, historians, students, and curious locals

🗞️ The difference between this free public resource and commercial databases

🗞️ How libraries and historical societies can get their collections digitized

Key Topics Discussed

📰 The Problem with Microfilm

📰 Chuck explains why libraries desperately needed a better solution than basement microfilm readers and hours of manual searching.

📰 Building the Archive

📰 Started in 2004 as Northern New York Historic Newspapers

📰 Expanded statewide in 2014

📰 Now adds approximately 500,000 new pages every year

📰 Second largest freely available newspaper archive in the U.S. (behind Library of Congress)

What's in the Collection

⌨️ 1,200+ newspaper titles from across New York State

⌨️ Earliest: New York Gazette (February 1725)

⌨️ Most recent: Freeport High School newspaper (June 2025)

⌨️ Includes Catskills papers like the Catskill Mountain News, Delaware County Dairyman, Gilboa Monitor, and Callicoon Local Record

⌨️ Multiple languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, Gaelic, and Native languages

Search Tips from the Expert

🖱️Start with county-based browsing using the interactive map

🖱️Use Boolean search operators and quotation marks for precise results

🖱️Try alternative spellings for older papers with imperfect OCR

🖱️Browse by specific dates to see multiple newspapers' coverage of historical events

🖱️Create a free account to save searches and make notes

Who Uses It

👉 Genealogists researching births, deaths, marriages, and property transfers

👉 Amateur and professional historians

👉 Students from K-12 through university level

👉 Authors and journalists

👉 Local communities preserving their heritage

The Process

Libraries and historical societies can submit their collections

Funding often available through Empire State Library Network councils

Scanning done in-house in Potsdam, NY

OCR technology makes everything searchable

Original microfilm preserved as permanent backup

Notable Finds Mentioned

Desperate fight with a bear (Stanford Mirror, 1876)

Bootleg liquor tragedy (Delaware Republican, 1926)

Restaurant ads from the 1970s

The "Spiedie Sandwich" historical marker project

Copyright and Access

Content pre-1920s is public domain

1920s-1960s content varies by copyright status

Post-1960s content requires written permission

Everything available free of charge—no paywalls or subscriptions

Resources

New York State Historic Newspapers

New York Heritage

Get Involved

Libraries and historical societies can contact the Northern New York Library Network about digitization services

Create a free account to save searches and research

Optional monthly newsletter available

🎙️ Production Credits

Kaatscast is a biweekly production of Silver Hollow Audio

Host, producer: Brett Barry

Transcription: Jerome Kazlauskas

More at kaatscast.com

Sponsored by The Mountain Eagle

🫆 Mystery Bonus

Do you know where the Mountain Eagle's missing archives are? Previous owners either destroyed them or the microfilm is languishing in an undisclosed ... basement? Contact the show if you have leads!

Restaurant owner Mike Cioffi talks food, pandemic adaptations, and running (two) successful restaurants in the Catskills –– Phoenicia's landmark Phoenicia Diner, and Woodstock's Dixon Roadside.

Thanks to Mike, Courtney, Bella, and everyone behind the scenes who made our Phoenicia Diner lunch possible. And thank you to our local sponsors: the Phoenicia Playhouse, and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce.

This week, we present an audio driving guide on arts and culture, produced a few years back, in association with the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway. Hear from artists, musicians, and farmers with tips on farms, galleries, museums, and scenery you'll want to mark on a map for your next trip up the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway ... Route 28, from Olive to Andes.

Please visit our sponsors: the Phoenicia Playhouse, and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce. 

Over the years, Silver Hollow Audio has produced a number of audio driving guides, including tours of art, history, and outdoor recreation. This week, we've pulled out our outdoor adventure guide, produced in 2016 in association with the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway. It's chock full of ideas for your next hiking, paddling, cycling, or fishing trip. Peter Manning is our tour guide, with specific suggestions along Route 28, heading west from Olive to Andes. Plus, we'll hear from some of the Catskills' most experienced outdoors-people on those very trails and waterways. Trail access and sporting regulations do tend to change, so please be sure to check maps and local guides for updates. There have also been some major additions in the past few years, like Rail Explorers, out of Phoenicia; and the Ashokan Rail Trail, with trailheads in Woodstock, Shokan, and Boiceville. To hear about the rail trail, check out Kaatscast episode 30.

So ... grab a map, and a note pad, because this episode is loaded with ideas for your next outdoor adventure.

At one time, New York state had more than 100 active fire towers, the purpose of which was to help lookouts –– you guessed it –– spot fires. These days, some of the remaining towers have been repurposed for recreational use. At Bramley Mountain, in the western Catskills, the fire tower was dismantled in the 1970s, but a local family has been keeping it safe in a nearby barn. Now that Bramley has an official hiking trail, that tower is destined, once again, for the summit. Laurie Rankin tells us more, on our Bramley Mountain hike.

Thanks to WIOX and the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway for their support. 

To learn more about the Bramley fire tower project, head on over to bramleymountainfiretower.org.

Hanford Mills Museum operates an authentic water- and steam-powered historic site, which includes a sawmill, gristmill, and woodworking shop. The mission of Hanford Mills Museum is to inspire audiences of all ages to explore connections among energy, technology, natural resources, and entrepreneurship in rural communities with a focus on sustainable choices. The museum is listed on the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places.

We took a tour, and you can too! For scheduling and information, visit hanfordmills.org. Thanks to our sponsors, WIOX and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce.

This Memorial Day week, we visited two area cemeteries where historians are taking steps to memorialize former Catskills residents in the towns of Delhi and Roxbury. At the Roxbury Methodist Church cemetery, gravestones obscured by years of algae and lichen growth are being restored with a special cleaning agent and some good ol' historian elbow grease. And in Delhi, a poorhouse cemetery lost in time is finally getting the recognition and care that it deserves. 

County historian Gabrielle Pierce is working with Christa Schafer's Delaware County Office, to restore stones to hundreds of graves in Delhi, NY. And in Roxbury, historians Diane Galusha and Anthony Liberatore scrub 80 years of grime to renew a marble headstone.

Kaatscast is supported by WIOX Community Radio, live and local in the Catskills; and by the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway. 

Hankering for some baseball circa 1895? Teams like Mountain Athletic Club and the Bovina Dairymen are playing vintage "base ball" right here in the Catskills. Spectators and players welcome! We spoke with the M.A.C.'s Collin Miller during spring practice on Creamery Field in Bovina, NY. Collin's team is "fashioned after the original team established in Griffin Corners, New York in 1895 by yeast magnates Julius and Max Fleischmann. Thanks to M.A.C., the Bovina Dairymen, and the Delhi Base Ball Club for inviting us to practice. 

Thanks also to our sponsors: Roxbury's WIOX and the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway.

This week, I met with Brian Flynn for a no-holds-barred interview on his run for Congress, his business ventures, a family tragedy, a life of activism, civic engagement, and the donation of not one, but two living organs. All that, and more, from Brian's home in Elka Park, NY.

This episode was edited by our production intern, Skye Ruse. Please support our supporters: the Phoenicia Playhouse and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce.

Honey bees aren't the only species facing serious population declines. Wild bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and other insects, plus birds, bats, and amphibians are losing natural habitat and being forced out by invasive species, pesticides and herbicides. Pollinator pathways are a series of pollinator friendly areas that are spaced closely enough to create a habitat corridor. And for Catskills landowners, the Woodstock NY Pollinator Pathway offers simple ways to affect positive change for our pollinator pals. Committee Chair Georgia Asher tells us more.

Supported by WIOX and the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway.

Oliverea schoolhouse maple is a 4,000 tap maple farm owned and operated by Herb Van Baren. We tagged along for the day as he tapped trees and pumped sap to be boiled down to 1,000 gallons of Catskill Mountain syrup!

This episode was sponsored by WIOX and the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway.

Prescribed Fire in the Catskills: Restoring a Lost Tool

In this episode, Brett sits down once again with Ryan Trapani, Director of Forest Services at the Catskill Forest Association, to explore the surprising ecological value of prescribed fire in the Northeast.

Recorded fireside at the Kaatscast studio, this conversation digs into the science, history, and cultural memory of fire in the Catskills, and why small, carefully managed burns may be key to healthier forests, richer wildlife habitat, and a more resilient landscape.

Key Topics

• Why fire disappeared from Northeastern land management — and why that’s a problem

• How Indigenous communities shaped ecosystems with fire

• What “pyrogenic species” like oak and chestnut need to thrive

• The Catskill Forest Association’s new prescribed burn program

• How controlled burns can improve wildlife habitat and biodiversity

• The challenges of permits, insurance, and public perception

• What early‑successional habitat is — and why we’re losing it

• Lessons from the Albany Pine Bush and Shawangunk Ridge

About the CFA Prescribed Burn Program

Ryan outlines CFA’s cautious, incremental approach to reintroducing fire on private lands — starting with low‑complexity field burns, building community familiarity, and navigating the regulatory and insurance landscape. The goal: restore a long‑missing tool to the Catskills’ silvicultural toolbox.

With snow and ice still reluctant to make way for long-awaited signs of spring, bird species know that warm weather is indeed on its way, and many are already en route back to their Catskills breeding grounds. For many of us, robins are a telltale sign that spring has sprung. If you're hiking in the high country, though, you might be lucky enough to hear a Bicknell's thrush, back from its winter home in Hispaniola. Although its range is not limited to the Catskills, the bird was discovered here in the 19th century, by Eugene P. Bicknell. To tell us more about the man behind the bird, I spoke with Jeremy Kirchman, Curator of Birds at the New York State Museum.

This episode originally aired as part of Catskill Historical Views, an audio companion to Catskill Tri-County Historical Views, published by the Gilboa Museum & Juried History Center, with support from the Zadock Pratt Museum. Thanks to Humanities New York for their support.

This week, we're joined by 4 Catskills writers, teachers, and board members of Writers in the Mountains, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide a nurturing environment for the practice, appreciation and sharing of creative writing.

Simona David is a media consultant, author of How Art Is Made: In the Catskills (published in 2017), and former president of Writers In The Mountains (from 2012 – 2019). She's currently working as an advisor to the Board. 

Sharon Israel hosts the radio show, Planet Poet-Words in Space, on Roxbury's WIOX, and she hosts a podcast by the same name. Her debut chapbook, Voice Lesson, was published in 2017 by Post Traumatic Press. And she's been on the Writers in the Mountains Board of Directors for over a decade. 

Anique Sara Taylor is a Pushcart Prize nominee. Her work has appeared in Rattle, Common Ground Review, Stillwater Review, Earth’s Daughters and several anthologies. She’s co-authored works for HBO, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster and a three-act play that was performed by Playwrights Horizons and Williamstown Theatre Festival.  She's also an award-winning artist, and she teaches Creative Writing for Benedictine Hospital’s Oncology Support Program, Bard Lifetime Learning Institute, and Writers in the Mountains. 

Leslie T. Sharpe is a lifelong naturalist living in the Great Western Catskills. Her book, The Quarry Fox and Other Critters of the Wild Catskills, is an Independent Book Publisher "Gold Medal Award winner for Excellence". And I had the pleasure of producing the audiobook edition, beautifully narrated by Leslie, and available wherever audiobooks are found. In 2019, Leslie was named one of Fifty Stewards of the Catskills. She's taught writing and editing at Columbia University, New York University, the City College of New York, and currently, at Writers in the Mountains. 

Supported by WIOX and the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce.

Join us for part two of our behind-the-scenes tour of "Sustainable Catskills," with stops at the nation's first "passive house" library, an eco-conscious resort on the banks of the Esopus, and an Arkville solar array that implements local art and bluestone into its design. Thanks to Ulster Tourism and The 52-mile Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway, following New York State Route 28 through the heart of the Central Catskills.