Journey to the Catskills: I first came to Woodstock in 1999 with my then-wife Flo to ride out the week of that new year (and its much-vaulted dread of global computer crash) at a mutual friend’s place on Mink Hollow Road in Lake Hill. We had a blast, coming from the city, though a cold one, in the country – we came and went – … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Sam Truitt
Journey to the Catskills: Growing up on farms in Harford County, MD, I was used to wide open spaces. After high school, much to the sorrow of my identical twin sister, I followed a boy and relocated to Bucks County, PA. That relationship ended. Still, I stayed for 18 years, apprenticing with designer Carolyn Fell and eventually landed my dream job as set stylist at … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Rebecca Andre
Journey to the Catskills: Impulsiveness. Irresponsibility. Vocation: Writer. Reader. Editor. Publisher. Professor. Avocation: Walking. Gazing. Happiness Is: A balancing act. Favorite Dish: I am ravenous for nothing in particular. Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Jared Fagen
Journey to the Catskills: My husband, Dick Demenus, and I were invited up to the Catskills in the summer of 1996 to visit a friend who had a house in Shandaken. We weren’t familiar with the area at all, although Dick had done some hiking around Hunter Mountain and Woodland Valley years before. I remember swimming in the Pine Hill Lake and just being enchanted … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Jan Albert
Journey to the Catskills: In 2012 I bought a house on 6.3 acres in a village I had never heard of. A broker from Olive kept taking me further and further down Route 28. I was a full-time art professor in Tribeca, and a native of Brooklyn. After spending many summers in Lake Luzerne (the Lake George region of NY), and spending three wonderful years … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Miguel Martinez-Riddle
Journey to the Catskills: In a matter of speaking, the Mountain Eagle. My father worked at the Mountain Eagle as a young man before I was born, then moved our family to the area in 1989 to work at the Mountain Eagle a second time. We’ve moved around a bit, but have been here ever since, and in Middleburgh since 1990. Vocation: A little bit … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Matthew Avitabile
Journey to the Catskills: I came to the Catskills – more accurately, Delaware County, decades ago, as the first-time director of the Delaware County Historical Association. I still remember that time – almost 13 years as director! – as a time of intense learning, including some lessons about communities and museums I still use today. I’m the rare person who came here for a job, and I … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Linda Norris
Journey to the Catskills: I came to the Catskills because of Helen Levitt (the great American photographer and cinematographer) who invited me. We stayed six weeks, and I mostly cooked and made a video about where we were. “Summers with Helen” can be viewed on Vimeo. Vocation: Film and photography*. Avocation: My photography is also my hobby. Happiness Is: Enjoying life every day. Favorite Dish: Freshly picked … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Elaine Mayes
Journey to the Catskills: I was born here. I longed to leave and did for a while, but came back. Not because I especially liked it – it was a lonely place 40 years ago – but these mountains were (and still are) kin to me. I was in Iowa, but writing from within the Catskills, this place and people, my people. I had to … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Mermer Blakeslee
Journey to the Catskills: Fate. I somehow always saw myself ending up (somewhere like) here, even whilst growing up in London. First time I saw the mountains in person, I knew it would happen. Eventually it did. Vocation: A communicator of stories; a teacher of music*. Avocation: Runner. It was amazing to discover around the mid-way mark of life that I was actually good at … Continue reading Humans of the Catskills: Tony Fletcher
Art in the Catskills 