Outreach

HSRC in Print SouthoftheMountains

The history quarterly South of the Mountains is the flagship publication of the HSRC and a tangible benefit of membership in the Society. Highlights from 2022–23 issues include “Introduction to Grace Sayres,” by Nyack Village Historian Myra Starr; “Grade Adele Morris Sayres: Saturday’s Child,” by Carol Weiss; “Who Was Alice Beal Parsons?” by Marjorie Johnson; and “The Garden Fence,” a report on a much needed and beautifully executed Eagle Scout project at the HSRC.

South of the Mountains, a winner of the Greater Hudson Heritage Network Award for Excellence, is published in four issue per year, thanks to editor Marjorie H. Johnson, consulting editor Marianne Leese, and our many contributors.

HSRC on the Radio Crossroads of Rockland History

Our monthly radio program broadcast on WRCR 1700 AM and streaming on www.WRCR.com entered its eleventh year in 2022–“Crossroads” featured the following programs:

April 2022: “The Life and Artistic Legacy of Sidney Simon,” with Teru Simon and Mark Simon

May 2022: “Confessions of a Hayseed DA,” with Kathleen

 June 2022: “Millia Davenport, Theatrical Trailblazer,” with SUNY Professor David Bisaha

 July 2022: “The Orangetown Memory Project at the Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives,” with Mary Cardenas, Elizabeth Skrabonja, and Stefanie D’Erasmo

 August 2022: “Storytellers from Nyack at the Historical Society of the Nyacks,” with Mimi Hoffman, and “Uniquely Rockland at the HSRC,” with Susan Deeks

 September 2022: “Memories of Burgess Meredith,” with Jonathan Meredith

 October 2022: “Haunted History: Lavender” and “Linda Zimmerman Reprise”

 November 2022: “Edward Hopper’s Boyhood,” with Hopper House Executive Director Kathie Bennewitz

 December 2022: “Dutch Holiday Traditions,” with HSRC Educator Jennifer Brooks

 January 2023: “Personal Recollections of Pearl River,” with Pearl River Local History Librarian James Cassetta

 February 2023: “Black History Month: Clare Sheridan Revisits Her 2011 Crossroads Interview with Dr. Travis Jackson”

 March 2023: “From California Perfume to Avon: Suffern’s Premier Company,” with Rockland Historian Craig Long

To date, 146 programs and excerpts are available for download or for Podcast listening. The New York History Blog continues to pick up “Crossroads” and share it with the larger New York State History Community through their platform.

In addition to providing links under the “Podcasts” tab on the RocklandHistory.org website, we are pleased to announce that our archived podcasts continue to be available on all of the major podcast platforms, including Apple, Google, Stitcher, and Spotify.

HSRC on the Internet Website and Social Media

From April 2023 to March 2023, 16,801 individuals visited the HSRC website at least once (up from 16,443 in 2021–22). Some 87% of them were first-time visitors to the website, and they looked at 44,312 pages, for an average of 1.75 pages viewed per user per session. The majority (94%) lived in the United States and accessed the website via some form of broadband or satellite connection.

The number of people who “Like” or “Follow” the HSRC’s Facebook page grew again this year, from 4,887 on April 1, 2022, to 5,447 on March 31, 2023. Most of our Facebook friends live in Rockland, with the remainder in the New York metropolitan area and a few out of state and overseas.

The HSRC continued to email the “Flashback Friday” feature to members each week. The column, compiled by volunteer Clare Sheridan, curates items of local history significance that were originally published in Rockland County newspapers between 150 and 50 years ago. Each column is also archived on the RocklandHistory.org website, under the “Research” tab. These consistent periodic publications allow the HSRC to leverage social media to engage new audiences. Social media platforms on which we are participating include Instagram, Facebook, SoundCloud, Tumblr, and Twitter. Our presence on these sites, where we share the history of Rockland County with images, text, and video, has continued to increase. Using the insights and metrics from social media our goal is to convert these casual users into active, paid members and supporters of the society. https://nyheritage.org/organizations/historical-society-rockland-county

In addition, the HSRC’s online media including the “Crossroads of Rockland History” radio podcast continues to be available through the New York Heritage portal (https://nyheritage.org), a move that brings even more history enthusiasts to our digitized collections.