In too many instances, torn pieces of paper found in an old coffee can might not have received a second look. Fortunately, thanks to Velma Grazier’s knowledge and curiosity, these six or seven pieces of paper, when assembled in order, open a door to an important chapter in Woodstock’s story; a chapter many of us have read about but, until now, we’re without a physical connection that could attest to its reality.
What Were We Thinking?
As Woodstock prepares to take another whack at developing a comprehensive plan, the archives at the Historical Society, through a collection of documents produced by the Woodstock Association in the early-sixties, offer insight into where Woodstock was more than 50 years ago and, more importantly, how Woodstockers saw the future. Formed in 1959, the Woodstock Association took on the mission of moving the town towards a certain level of planning while also pushing for a town-wide zoning ordinance overseen by a diligent planning board. In effort to capture the general attitudes of the public in relation to planning and what residents saw as the town’s most immediate needs, the Association, in 1960, distributed a survey to more than 2,500 Woodstockers. Today, in reviewing the results of that survey, we are offered a glimpse into what was important to town residents as the “sixties” arrived and, in doing so, find some concerns that remain a part of our current community dialogue.
According to a summary of the survey’s findings, members of the Association noted that there was “overwhelming demand for some kind of planning to control or even restrain the inevitable growth or its accompanying symptoms which faces our township.” Leading to their conclusion was majority agreement in the returned surveys on the following: Counter stream pollution (92.3%), Favor residential and artistic development (86.2%), Regulate appearance of commercial buildings (82.6%), Regulate minimum size of building lots (71.5%), Encourage additional doctors (68.1%), Conserve Woodstock’s looks (66.5%), Regulate appearance of residential buildings in certain areas (66.3%), Favor moderate increase in population (65.0%), Favor year-round residents (63.8%), Shopping facilities are adequate (63.5% Note: this was when Woodstock had a supermarket), and, finally, in a blow to those who might have wanted to emulate the Hamptons at some point, 57.8% of those surveyed opposed the construction of a local airport.
Those surveyed were also asked to offer opinion on the “type” of residents Woodstockers preferred “to see attracted” to our town, the type of development they favored and where they thought public funds should be directed when attempting to attract various institutions and businesses. When responding to the “type of residents” locals would prefer to attract, 30.8% favored professional people, 29.6% desired artists, musicians and writers, while the next highest category “just any” polled at 8.5%. When it came to development, 50.5% of residents in 1960 believed the town should grow as a “residential town,” 35.7% favored growth as an “artist colony,” and only 1.7% foresaw future growth centering on Woodstock as a “resort town.” Interestingly, when it came to the possibility of Woodstock expending money to attract a certain type of business or institution, 35.9% thought the town should entice a college to move to Woodstock, 23.3% favored attracting a research organization, 17.4% desired adding a shopping center, while only 12% hoped to bring in further “industry.”
Nowhere in the survey could this writer find anyone suggesting that we simply give the town back to the Livingstons and let them run the whole thing again.
Thank you, Miss Stone
Finally, any thoughts on local history cannot conclude without noting the sad news that Evelyn Stone passed away at the end of January. Miss Stone, as thousands of local students knew her throughout the years, was second to none when it came to instilling the value of history in her students. Beginning her almost four decades as a teacher at the one-room school house in Bearsville and, later, in Chichester, Miss Stone went on to teach history at Onteora while remaining active in her church and our community. While I was never lucky enough to have her as a teacher, during the times I interviewed her or spoke with her, I was always impressed by her optimism, her obvious love of teaching and her understanding that the foundation of our future is only as strong as our knowledge of the past. Evelyn Stone, through the students and friends she touched, did more than her fair share in making sure that such a foundation was firmly constructed.
Richard Heppner is Woodstock Town Historian.
Excellent !
More, please !