The “Gray Ladies” of Margaretville Hospital. Soda jerking at Miller’s Drug Store. Marching with the high school band. Saturday night dates at the Galli-Curci Theater. These and other flashbacks to earlier times are featured in “Margaretville Memories,” a collection of five short video interviews produced by CatskillsAir.
They can now be viewed on MTC & DTC Cable Channel 1, and at CatskillsAir.com.
Airing throughout the day every day through December 2025, the videos feature area residents and historians describing and remembering community and personal histories as part of the Village of Margaretville’s 150th Anniversary this year.
The videos, ranging from 90 seconds to more than four minutes in length, include vintage images of Margaretville and the interviewees. They were created in cooperation with the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM). Support came from the family of the late Walt and Donna Heley, and from Mark and Maritza Birman and their 1053 Gallery in Fleischmanns.
The segments include:
• “Who was Margaret?,” with HSM President Diane Galusha explaining the origin of Margaretville’s name;
• Railroads Come to Town, with historian John Duda on the impacts of the U&D Railroad (arriving in 1871) and the D&N Railroad (1906);
Community Life and Love, with Cathy and Doug Hinkley, talking about their long marriage – to each other and to the community where they have been involved with civic improvement projects over decades;
• School Days, with Jane Williams Miller and Ellen Judge Swanson, sharing memories of growing up as neighbors and classmates at Margaretville Central School; and
• Small Town Spirit, with Joan Lawrence-Bauer and Gary Atkin, describing businesses and institutions in the village.
The videos can also be viewed on the HSM website, mtownhistory.org (Communities/Margaretville), where much more history about greater Middletown can be found, as well as details on coming events, like the Armchair Cemetery Tour August 23 and 24.
For more information, leave a message for HSM at 845-586-2400.
