WWI History Programs

The following was cut and pasted from Tim Blydenburgh's Times Union History Blog on two upcoming history programs on America's role in World War I.

Return Without Fail
The meeting is free and open to the public with refreshments served following the presentation.VALLEY FALLS — The Pittstown Historical Society meets at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16 at the Pittstown Town Hall, 97 Tomhannock Road in Valley Falls where Historian Peter Lindemann of Cobleskill will present “Return without Fail: The Lost Doughboys of Rensselaer County.”

“Following World War One, the state historian asked all town historians to submit reports on local wartime activities, including photographs of the soldiers, for a planned publication on New York State in the World War,” Lindemann said. “Most towns in Rensselaer County complied, with about 400 soldier photographs submitted, many with handwritten instructions such as ‘return without fail.’”

However, no funds were appropriated, and the state publication was never produced. The photos were not returned and ever since have been sitting in boxes in the New York State Archives in Albany.

On Nov. 16, , these 400 re-discovered photographs, along with letters and stories of these heroic men and women, will be shown, as the Rensselaer County doughboys finally ‘return without fail,’ Lindemann said.

Greene County’s impact

COXSACKIE — Local historian Richard Muggeo discusses Greene County’s impact on World War I at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov 9, at the Vedder Research Library.

The library is on the grounds of the Bronck Museum off Route 9W, 1.5 miles south of the intersection of routes 9W, 385, and 81. Free admission, but donations appreciated in support of the Beecher Scholarship, a $1,000 annual scholarship awarded to a Greene County senior high school student who writes a paper related to history in the county.