By DIANE VALDEN
ANCRAM—She was the guardian of town history for nearly three decades.
Clara Van Tassel, 85, retired from her post as town historian as of the first of this year, so the Town Board took the opportunity to recognize her for her years of service at the February 15 Town Board meeting.
Clara Van Tassel is pictured at home with her certificate of appreciation from the town. w/pic/David Lee
Mrs. Van Tassel, born and raised in the Ancram hamlet, took over the preservation of the town’s historical and cultural resources, including its treasure trove of artifacts, from the late Ethel Miller on January 3, 1995. Ever since then Mrs. Van Tassel has been town historian or assistant town historian. Now, she has turned over the keeping of the town’s historic archives to Robin (Roche) Massa. Katie (Boothby) Hunt will serve as assistant historian.
In a phone interview this week, Mrs. Van Tassel, who previously worked as a nurse, said her historian duties involved examining history and “keeping track of current town events because someday they will be history.”
She cataloged the town’s collection of artifacts, documents and photographs—all of which are stored in the historian’s office at Town Hall. She said Ancram may be the only town in the county to have a Town Hall historian’s office. Most town historians keep historical records in their homes, she said.
At the meeting, Town Clerk Monica Cleveland read “A Resolution of Heartfelt Appreciation Honoring” Mrs. Van Tassel. A plaque with a certificate of appreciation, a copy of the official resolution and a fragrant flower arrangement were bestowed, photos were snapped. There were hugs, kisses and applause.
Mrs. Van Tassel, seated in the front row, told those present, “Some things stay the same…and some things are different.”
She sited the infamous hamlet intersection of State Route 82 and County Route 7 as something town officials have worked to improve for many dozens of years–and still are. “It’s never going to happen, I’m sorry,” she said.
Among the things that have changed, she sited the farms. “We don’t have the farms we used to have, so that’s a big difference.”
She then recounted that about 70 years ago, she was a babysitter for some local boys, one of whom happened to be Jim MacArthur. At the time, she never imagined “he was going to be supervisor.” She also mentioned that she didn’t know exactly why, perhaps it was because he was so badly behaved, but his mother always had him already “put to bed” whenever she arrived.
“73-years-old and she’s still picking on me,” Supervisor MacArthur lamented with a grin.
Councilmember David Boice, who Mrs. Van Tassel (his aunt) also babysat for, motioned that the board adopt the resolution honoring Mrs. Van Tassel.
The unanimously approved resolution described Mrs. Van Tassel as “an energetic steward of the town’s rich history and artifacts” who “fostered positive relationships with Towns throughout the county…”
She “worked with the Columbia County Historical Society to continue to shine a light on the extensive history of this beautiful segment of New York.”
The resolution concludes that the Ancram Board and residents “express their appreciation to Clara Van Tassel for her hard work, dedication and enthusiasm, and wishes Clara all the best in her well-deserved retirement from the position of Town of Ancram Historian.”
Mrs. Van Tassel and her husband of nearly 65 years, Ronald, are the parents of five grown children and grandparents of five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
To contact Diane Valden email dvalden@columbiapaper.com
