|
|
Farewell Old RipMountain Top Historical Society
|
| Ron Hoose, a long
time friend of the Mountain Top Historical Society, passed away on July
12, 2004. We will miss him. |
|
Ron was known to all as
Old Rip. His presence at Mountain Top events brought Rip Van Winkle to life for adults and children alike. A few years ago Ron posed in full Van Winkle garb for these yet unpublished postcards. |
|
"Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember the Kaatskill Mountains. They are a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family, and are seen away to the west of the river, swelling up to a noble height, and lording it over the surrounding country. Every change of season, every change of weather, indeed, every hour of the day, produces some change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains, and they are regarded by all the good wives, far and near, as perfect barometers. When the weather is fair and settled, they are clothed in blue and purple, and print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky; but sometimes, when the rest of the landscape is cloudless, they will gather a hood of gray vapors about their summits, which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will glow and light up like a crown of glory." -- Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle These are the Mountains that attracted Rip Van Winkle; the same mountains where OUR Rip Van Winkle was born and grew up. This is where he hunted and fished and learned the ways of his forefathers. As a young man, he grew restless, he served in the army, went to Florida and learned to fly a plane. He tried many things while in the South, but they were not enough. He needed more and came back to his beloved mountains. When his health began to fail he developed an interest in HAM radio and collecting local postcards. He came to love local history and Catskill Mountain folklore and eventually fell naturally into the personification of a twentieth-century Rip Van Winkle. Rip, OUR Rip, and his dog Daisy, would appear at local events--parties, festivals, fairs, and parades. Often he would surprise a group of children, or a bus load of visitors by suddenly appearing from behind a clump of laurel or a sheltering rock near the site of the Catskill Mountain house, to the delight of all. All who knew him and enjoyed him know they lost someone very special when he left us on July 12, 2004. We will all miss you Ron "Rip Van Winkle" Hoose. --Justine Hommel August 2004 |
|
|
|