Tuesday, February 16, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 16, 1965
Tuesday, partly cloudy, in 30's.  We finished painting ceiling a flat coat.  Went to Cobleskill in pm and got Gerald's chauffeurs license.  Saw Evelyn Tenblad and Billie and Virginia at Cobleskill.  Mother called in am and asked us over for dinner but w didn't go.  Freddie Coons died.  I went to Louvilla's to SS meeting at night.  Madelyn went with me.  David had letter from Doug.
Comment: Busy day...the NY state driving laws changed in '65 requiring a Class 1 Chauffeurs License to drive tractor trailer and although I was pretty much done driving at that point, I got it anyway and I still regret today that I let it lapse about 10 years later in Ohio.....here are some memories of driving performed by David...and I still would like to handle one of those rigs one more time......

Truck Driving

I’ve hauled bark for Timberland to make charcoal briquettes

Getting paid 8 cents a mile, I took all I could get.

Brockway diesels , Screaming Jimmies, Mack B63’s

Concrete batch truck, Andrews Air Base, Washington DC

I drove to put  myself through school, just trying to change my luck

Off the farm then just discharged I drove those damned old trucks.

I’ve  hauled clinker, ice and milk and charcoal by the ton 

Double clutching, jamming gears  making midnight  runs.

Quarts of Pepsi with no food kept me tightly wired

Sleep deprived hallucinations, always over tired

Triplex, Duplex, straight 5-speeds with vacuum  shift rear ends

5 speed mains -auxiliary 3’s, combos with out  end

I  always got them figured out sometimes while on the road

And I always drove those damned old trucks, as fast as they would go

I’ve left smoking strips of rubber and watched those big duals burn

When I locked them up to miss a car as they made a no-left turn

I’ve endured  the deadly boredom then the special thrill

When I blew the air brake diaphragms at the top of a steep hill

I’ve passed semis 3 abreast on  narrow 2 lane roads

Trying to keep momentum up with twenty  five ton loads

I’ve seen my trailer in my mirrors skid and come around

And damn near jack knife tires sliding on the icy ground

I’ve rolled backwards down a hill in a state of abject terror

When I missed a shift and stalled it out and my trailer brakes lost air

I got it started, revved it up and jammed it  into low

The tractor reared high in the air when I popped the clutch to go

So when I’m on an the interstate and see a big rig roll

I want to be there in that  seat but I guess now I’m too old

I know I’ll probably never get to go back to those times

But  sometimes just before I sleep I hear a diesel whine

And I feel the  deep vibrations of a big rig in my bones

And I drive a midnight highway, fast and young and wild,  alone.

And I feel the  deep vibrations of a big rig in my bones

And I drive a midnight highway, fast and young and wild,  alone.

Monday, February 15, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 15, 1965
Monday, fair, sunny, 38.  I washed and hung some out, they dried good.  Put white paint and stain on ceiling.  Mrs.  Mayo was here in afternoon and we fixed Otis a sunshine box.  Roads good, no snow, only in spots.  Billie called and asked me to pick up pattern at Cobleskill.

Sunday, February 14, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 14, 1965
Sunday, cloudy and cold, high 18.  Went to church and Sunday School.  Carol didn't feel good and stayed home.  Laura here for dinner.  LaVerne's in pm.  Carol went home with them while we went to church at night.  Clifton and I sang.

Comment: I guess I did not realize that Dad and Mom were still singing.....here is a picture of them in California about two years prior with Marna...

Saturday, February 13, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 13, 1965
Saturday, cloudy, windy and cold.  Gerald and Mary Ann came for dinner and left around 7 pm.  Carol didn't feel good but she and Sue went to Valentine party at parsonage at night.  We called on LaVerne and Roberta in afternoon.  Otis came home from hospital.

Comment:  Early Valentine's Day party......

Friday, February 12, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 12, 1965
Friday, windy, some warmer.  Still working on ceiling.  Richard Dadone here at night again.  LaVerne, Roberta and John here too.  Gerald called from Gloversville.  Girls went to ball game.
Comment:  The REALTOR comes again to finalize the deal...and the weekend begins.  And this was the number 1 song on 2/12/65:  

Thursday, February 11, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 11, 1965
Thursday, partly cloudy but warmer.  Still working at ceiling.  I went to prayer meeting at Madelyn's.  Richard Dason,(Realtor)  had two people here in afternoon to sell old place up back.  He came back again at night and had made a sale to Herman and Judith Rother from N.J.
Comment:  The "Old Place" was the original farm owned by Gamalia and Anna Hubbard and was on the way up the mountain to the tower and we kids were up there very often either on our way to the tower, hunting something, or after the cows.  Dad sold around thirty acres for $3000.00.  I remember him talking about how when he walked the property with  Rother, Rother was totally amazed how much land thirty acres were and Dad thought he probably could have sold him three acres for the same price....here is a story and some history of Anna and Gamalia based on a news article from the Gilboa Monitor in 1886..a damned horse could have killed her......


A Horse Story 

Conesville—Mrs. Gamalia Hubbard met with a singular accident not long since, which might have proved very serious.
She was reaching in the horse manger after eggs, when the horse caught her hood and hair between it’s teeth and jammed her head against the manger with such force that her eyes were badly injured; so much so that for a short time she supposed that she had lost the sight of one eye; and they are still badly swollen and discolored.
..Gilboa Monitor, April 8, 1886

This was Margaret Ann Christiana, (1849-1933), married to Gamalia Hubbard, (1852-1883), who died of appendicitis when he was 31 or so. She was called Anna.

They met while both worked for Col. Zadock Pratt in Prattsville, of Pratt's Rocks fame. He started a leather tanning business in the area.

On April 24, 1882, they bought land on what is now known as Hubbard Hill. The middle part of the our homestead was the original log cabin that Gamalia and Anna lived in. Previous to that, they lived further up the mountain on the old foundation behind David's campsite.

Their children were Elmer, my grandfather, and John, who had no children. Gamalia and Anna are buried in Grand Gorge Cemetery.

She was apparently a much loved grandmother of Elmer's children and I remember my Dad talking about his visits to her.


This incident happened about 3 years after her husband's death, when she was about thirty seven years old. Elmer, born in 1882, was about one year old when his father died and about 3 years old when this incident occured. It also must have occured on Hubbard Hill.

Interesting that she outlived her husband by fifty years....... Also interesting to think about how many of the current generation would have died of appendicitis had we been unlucky enough to have been born a hundred years earlier.

Thanks To Bea Haskin For The Information

Wednesday, February 10, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 10, 1965
Wednesday, rainy, 20-38, freezing rain in am.  Worked on ceiling, got lights in half of it.  Wrote Doug and Marilyn.  Ella called at noon.

Comment:  I think they were working in this room putting indirect lighting in the upper left ceiling...the ceiling beams were hand hewn and were original to the home.....

Tuesday, February 9, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaires

February 9, 1965
Tuesday, beautiful, fair, clear day, warm, 40's.  I washed and hung outside, everything dried good.  We took Myrtie to see Otis with their car in pm.  Had letter from Doug.  David went about unemployment.
Comment:  Washing still a big job back then, hanging clothes in 40 degrees not necessarily a lot of fun but Mom seems up beat about it anyway.....Otis must be sick, not sure why they took their car to see him, I guess Myrtie does not drive......From Mary, David's Wife:  David lost his job at Hunter Mountain Ski Area because he took a day off to attend my grad party at the Parrot House a few days ago.

Clear Day Looking West From Hubbard Hill House

Monday February 8, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

Monday, February 8, 1965
Foggy and warm, 40's we went to Middleburgh in am after Myrtie.  Merel went to hospital for sugar.  Dorothy Lee killed at Cairo By-Pass.

Comment:  Not sure who Dorothy Lee is but probably a Lee girl from the family that lived on Bull Hill Road on the way to West Conesville.....here are Aunt Ella, and Uncle Merel with Betty and Merel Jr sometime in the early forties  I would guess.....

Sunday, February 7, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 7, 1965
Sunday, warm and rainy, 43.  We went to church and Sunday school and to LaVerne's in afternoon and rode up to Hunter.  Sue and I went to church at night.

Comment: Quiet day, nice ride up to Hunter probably from Gilboa to Prattsville, on to Lexington on 23A and then to Hunter...very scenic....

Saturday, February 6, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 6, 1965
Saturday, warm and thawed, nothing special.

Comment: 'nuff said.....

Friday, February 5, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 5, 1965
Friday, cloudy, cold, -8 to 12, very light snow in pm.  Clifton and I cleaned attic.  Girls went to ball game at night.  Wayne went to Laura's for supper.  Bettie called in am to see if Mother was working.

Comment: Not sure who Bettie is, maybe Betty O'Hara?, Mother is Grandma Bessie who worked in a glove shop in Richmondville owned by one of Mary Ann's cousins...small world....still very cold...cars and tractors won't start, equipment freezes....

Thursday, February 4, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 4, 1965
Thursday, very cold, high 3, windy.  I baked cookies for Carol for bake sale at school.  Made cake and worked on LaVerne's shirts.  No prayer meeting, nearly everyone sick who would come.  David got back from NYC 9:30 pm.  Ella called and Mrs. Mayo.  We wrapped water pipe in attic and cellar in insulation.
Comment: It's been bitter cold for days in row and something usually froze, either water in the barn, or water or fuel oil for the house....

Wednesday, February 3, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 3, 1965
Wednesday, bright, cold, zero degrees.  I wrote to Doug.  Sent income tax.  I ironed all day and finished it.  Myrtie was here for supper.  LaVerne, Roberta and John here in evening.  David and Mary went to NYC.

Comment: Something must be going on with Ote and Myrtie, Mom has been spending some time at their house and having her down several times.....not sure when Otis died...they were brother and sister and I remember I always thought they were man and wife.......Here is a talking blues song about them.

Hubbard Music Mountain: Ote And Myrtie Talking Blues Gerry Hubbard: 

Tuesday, February 2, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 2, 1965
Tuesday, partly cloudy, 20. We went over to Mother's for dinner.  Gerald called at night he made it to Buffalo ok.  We called Marilyn and they had got back from Arkansas 5 pm Monday.
Comment: I'm in Buffalo for a job interview and I got the offer a week or so later...

From Marilyn about Jim Harris's father's death:  Ira Harris, Jim's dad, had been in Ca and had left here about a week earlier. He was in a small house that caught fire and he died of smoke inhalation. It was in the middle of the night. Jim's Uncle Charlie, Jim and I went to Hot Springs and had his funeral. We actually paid for it and not sure where we got the money. We never had much extra cash but God always provided for our needs. He was born July 6 1902, Died on Jan 25th 1965. Gerald  thank you for doing this. It certainly jogs our memories. LU "M"

Monday, February 1, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 1, 1965
Monday, cloudy, 20 high, snow starting about 2 pm.  Washed, got Gerald's clothes ready; he left 6 pm for Gloversville and going on to Buffalo the next day.  David fired from job at Hunter.  Doug started at cruise to Caribbean.  Ly Warner here at night.  Had letter from Marilyn that Jim's dad had died in a fire at Hot Springs, Ark and they were on there way there.

Comment: Lots happening, I'm heading for a job interview at the Ford Buffalo Stamping Plant.......do not remember about the fire that killed Jim's dad...must have been pretty bad.....

Sunday, January 31, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 31, 1965
Sunday, bright, sunny day,. cold.  Carol and I went to church and Sunday school  and all at Parrot House in Schoharie for dinner,  37 were there.  Leonard Reynolds called on us at night.  Sue went to church and Doug went back.

From Left:  Unknown, Grandma Bessie, Unknown Woman, Earl, Dad in background
Mom, Me, Mary Ann, Mary And George Hallenbeck,  Carol?, Susan, Bobby Segaretz,
Joan Marguet?

Comment:  This was my SUNY@Albany graduation dinner at the Parrot House...there was no booze at the dinner to honor my mother's request....the drinks are a fruit punch....from Susan:  

Carol is in the edge of the picture on the far left, Grandma Bessie, Lillian (Segeritz) Hubbard and Uncle Earl, Dad, Mom, Gerry, Mary Ann, (Mary Ann’s) Parents Mary and George Hallenbeck, (Mary Ann’s Sister) Margie, Susan (me), Bob Segeritz, and I think in the far right edge of the picture is Linda Mattice – I think she was dating Wayne at the time…

Saturday, January 30, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 30, 1965
Saturday, sunny and cold, high 10.  Clifton and I went to Albany, changed out Carol's boots, got Clifton a shirt and Gerald luggage.  The boys had a skating party at Earl's lake at night.
Comment:  I remember the luggage they got me:  a Samsonite Two Suiter, probably cost about $40 and I kept it for years.  They bought for my trip to Buffalo for my Ford Motor Co. Interview.

David Hubbard comments on the Hubbard Hill House:  
"There was really no place like that house - especially to a bunch of kids who were small enough to think it was big. I remember the first time I truly noticed the music. (No season, date, or time of day to set down here.) Just a realization that it was there - the voices - that piano - and most memorably - those guitars that my brother and cousins and I would eventually pick up and dig in with. I look forward to hearing the coming verses."

Friday, January 29, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 29, 1965
Friday, cold, snow flurries light.  I washed in am and cleaned the house and went to Middleburgh after Myrtie in pm.  David met Doug in Kingston at night.  The boys and the girls are here in the evening.  Clifton and I went to LaVerne's and Gerald was here when we got back.  They (LaVerne's) went to the city.

Comment:  All the boys are around for the weekend, will probably be a party somewhere......here is a blurry picture of all of us with Marilyn except for Carol and Sue in 1978.....

Thursday, January 28, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 28, 1965
Thursday, 5, cold, windy, snow flurries.  Went to Myrtie's in am.  Clifton started the car.  I wrote to Marilyn and Louise.  Went to Middleburgh after boxes to install heater.

Comment:  Bitter cold and starting the car would be a major undertaking....

Wednesday, January 27, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 27, 1965
Wednesday, sunny in am, becoming cooler at night.  Clifton and I went to Montgomery Ward in Albany, got heaters, girls boots, etc.
Comment: From Charlotte Haskin Carlton about yesterday's post: "memories--my Mother worked at the Parrot House for years and years.   I am sure she was waitressing there in 1965.   What a beautiful building inside and outside."'

Charlotte in 1955

Tuesday, January 26, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 26, 1965
Tuesday, mostly sunny.  Gerald was home.  Clifton and I went to Middleburgh in pm shopping and after coal.  Made plans for dinner with Gerald at the Parrot House.

Parrot House In The Sixties

Comment: I graduated from SUNY@Albany in January, '65 and Dad and Mom are going to throw me a dinner to celebrate the occasion.....

Monday, January 25, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 25, 1965

Monday, 20's, cloudy, light snow in am, becoming partly sunny in pm.  I washed, had a letter from Marilyn. Comment: Quiet Monday....of course, it probably took her most of the day to do the wash...

Sunday, January 24, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 24, 1965
Sunday, snowy, windy, 20's.  Wayne drove girls and me to church.  LaVerne, Roberta, John, Doug, Gerald, Mary Ann, Mary, Laura here for dinner; 13 of us.  All left early but Gerald and Mary Ann.  No church at night because of weather.
Comment:  Bad weather, good dinner.....13 people, no triskaidekaphobia... this is the fear of the number 13 and there is a Nordic superstition that if there are 13 for dinner, one of them will die in the following year...didn't happen...take a look...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triskaidekaphobia

Saturday, January 23, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 23, 1965
Saturday snowed all day, 12.  Carol went to Downsville to game, left at 11 am.  Gerald called and said hi and that Mary Ann would be here for Sunday.  Clifton, Sue and a I went to LaVerne's toward night.

Comment:  Will be on the Hill for Sunday dinner.  I think I had a job interview at Ford in Buffalo on the 20th but no mention of it by Mom...not sure what's up.  Mary Ann and I after graduating from Coby Tech in 1963... 

Friday, January 22, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 22, 1965
Friday, sunny in am, becoming cloudy, windy, warm, 40's.  I washed in am, hung some outside.  David went to work and had day off.  Clifton cut wood.  Had letter from Louise.  Ground nearly bare. Doug came home.

Comment:   From Tara about yesterday's post:  "Grandma did it all..I promise not to  complain when my washing machine, dishwasher or maintenance man is taking too long...Blessings, Tara"

January 21, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 21, 1965
Thursday, sunny 5.  I wrote to Marilyn.  Cleaned stove pipe. At 11 am we left for Oneonta and ate at the diner in Grand Gorge.  I went to prayer meeting with Maude,  Candy Bailey funeral. Oneonta had lot more snow than we had.

Comment: There was always some maintenance to be done on that old hours. Here is the chimney the stove pipe ran into......risky business.....

Wednesday, January 20, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 20, 1965
Wednesday, mostly cloudy and snow flurries, windy.  I ironed and made nut bread.  Put sleeves in jacket for Laura at night.

Comment: Mom keeps busy....she is now 52 years old, about 32 years younger than I am now, somehow that's unbelievable and amazing......the woods scene is very similar to those of the Hubbard Hill woods south of the road....

Tuesday, January 19, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 19, 1965
Tuesday, fair, about 20.  Three above in early am.  Wayne went to Cobleskill with us for X-ray on chest, only swollen cartilage.  Went to Mother's for dinner.  Bought supplies at Bullard's.  Got letter from bank at post office.  Candy Bailey died.

Comment: Wayne and my mother had a mild case of a genetic chest condition called "pigeon chest" or pectus excavatum where there is a slight depression in the sternum and that is probably why he had a problem....not sure if other kids and grand kids also have this. I don't ....and that is probably TMI......

Monday, January 18, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 18, 1965
Monday, mostly sunny and little warmer.  Did some washing and ironing.  Carol and Sue stopped at Mrs. Mayo's for practice.

Laundry Room On Hubbard Hill

Comment: Typical Monday on the Hill.....

Sunday, January 17, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 17, 1965
Sunday, cloudy and cold.  LaVerne, Roberta, John, Laura and Deanna here for dinner and supper.  Winnie, Rudy and Randy stopped in evening.  Girls and I went to church and Sunday School in am and Carol and I at night.

Comment: Busy Sunday...Winnie and Rudy often stopped in and visited, and Rudy always came "up home" as he called it, to hunt deer. Here is a picture of them about when they got married.....must have been during WWII...I do not remember their marriage but was probably there....Rudy was always super cool looking.....

Saturday, January 16, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 16, 1965
Saturday, 0 high, light snow.  Gerald called from Albany in am and said he was headed for Syracuse.  David worked.  Dougie and Wayne went to Oneonta in am.  Had letter from Marilyn.

Comment: I think I was going to Syracuse to interview for a high school teaching job that paid about $2800 per year to start. I got the offer but was waiting for my Ford Motor interview in Buffalo on the 20th...

Friday, January 15, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 15, 1965
Friday, cold, cloudy 10 high then -10.  I washed in am, made girl's night gowns in am.  Wayne, David and girls picked up Doug at 6:30 pm at Kingston.  David and Doug were home all night.
Comment: Amazing, David and Doug did not go out...worth a comment from Mom anyway......here are the "younger kids" sometime in the late fifties.....see the snow in the background......

Doug, David, Susan, Wayne, Carol

Thursday, January 14, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 14, 1965
Thursday, cold, 7, windy with flurries.  I wrote to Marilyn and Ella Mae.  Did some ironing.  Very cold and windy, 10 below at night.  Went to Marion Bailey's to Missionary Meeting after prayer meeting was canceled because of cold.

Comment: Windy and 10 below and the drafts through that old house would be cutting and require several layers to stay warm. We would also sometimes use quart canning jars filled with hot water wrapped in newspapers to keep us warm in bed. That would work until in the water got cold....here is a picture of a more specialized pottery bed, and foot warmer.....

Wednesday, January 13, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 13, 1965
Wednesday, cloudy, warm, 32.  I cleaned stairs and made Sue's red skirt and vest.  Deana Fancher came home with Carol.  David left for work 1 pm and was back at 5 pm.

Comment: And what stairs they were, steep and narrow up to the three tiny bedrooms and bath that you could not stand up in......warm weather puts the kibosh on David's working at the Hunter ski area....

Tuesday, January 12, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 12, 1965
Tuesday, 20's. Beautiful sunny day.  Clifton and I went to Mother's for dinner and shopped.  I got Sue red wool for skirt and cut it out at night.

Comment: Mom is doing a lot of sewing....From Marna Ford clarifying the Christmas letter and card Mom got from: Hello! Ralph and Chloe Howard went to our Baptist Church. They had one daughter named Janu (not sure of the spelling on her name). Ralph was a school teacher and would also teach Sunday School to the children at church. Ralph fell into a combine when he was 15 or 16. He had no hands and only one arm cut off above his elbow. He wore a prosthetic that was a hook, operated by his opposite shoulder with a shrug to open and close his hook. He could drive, write and eat by himself. He was a cheerful man, had no self pity  and I never realized he was "handicapped". I'm not sure anyone knows where they are now.

Happy New Year! Today I'm in beautiful Venice Beach helping with my darling grandson, Ford.

Monday, January 11, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

Bleak Winter Day From The Tower, 1980

January 11, 1965, Monday 20's cloudy.  I washed in am, finished Roberta's sweater at night.  Had a letter from Ralph and Chloe Howard with a wonderful Christmas and New Year's message.
Comment: I do not know the Howard couple....." In autumn the mountains were like purple haze that muted fall colors soaked thru.."

Sunday, January 10, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 10, 1965
Sunday, cloudy, 20, snow very light beginning about 11 am.  We went to Grand Gorge to church and John's baptism. Us and Renz's at LaVerne and Roberta's for dinner and Laura came home with us.

Comment: John L at his cousin David's birthday party about 1969 about 4 years after his baptism......

Saturday, January 9, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 9, 1965
Saturday, 50 in am.  Cloudy, windy, snow gone.  David left for work 7 am.  I baked.  Clifton and Wayne watered cattle and cleaned stables for Otis, he was sick.  Wayne brought Carol home from Fancher's about 5 pm.  Mary Joe Carmen and Jackie Pearsall here at night to see Carol.  I went to annual business meeting at church.

Comment: Dad and Wayne do the chores for Ote and Myrtie.....

Friday, January 8, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 8, 1965
Friday, rainy and warm, 30's and 40's.  I finished my green dress in early am.  Clifton had a bad cold.  Laura here at night for supper came home on bus with Wayne.  Carol went home with Deanna Fancher.  Roberta called in pm and said their church started at 10:30.
Comment: Comings and goings....btw, this map is wrong...'nard' in the upper left hand corner is really Hubbard Hill and the hill called Hubbard is really Leonard Mountain.....The following is excerpted from “Fire Towers Of The Catskills, Their History And Lore”, Martin Podskoeh, Purple Mountain Press, 2000.

In 1947, the state took down the 80-foot tower that stood on Gilbert Lake State Park and rebuilt it on Hubbard Hill. The mountain is named after the Hubbard family who have owned land and farmed there since the 1800’s.

However, the state misnamed it Leonard Hill Fire Tower, after a lower hill owned by Dr. Duncan Leonard next to Hubbard Hill. 

“It wasn't supposed to be Leonard Hill,” says Frances Hubbard. “Somebody got the maps mixed up. It always bothered me.”

Fred VanAken was the first observer at the tower. He started working April 8, 1949. He and the other rangers parked at the Hubbard farm and followed a rugged trail along the telephone lines to the tower.

“About 15 years after the tower was built, the state purchased 75 acres from my parents,” said Doug Hubbard, son of Clifton and Frances Hubbard. “The state built another road to the tower on the north side of the mountain, and we hardly saw the observers after that.”

One day during the 80’s, observer Judy Merwin gazed out the tower window at the beautiful valleys and woods of Schoharie. A young couple standing next to her had hiked to the tower and were learning about the area. Judy pointed out the Majestic Catskill Mountains to the south and the fertile Schoharie Valley to the north.

In the distant they could see a single-engine plane approaching the tower. As the plane got closer, they saw that it was pulling something. The young man said to his girlfriend, “Look! It has a sign.”

The words were now visible: “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” The young woman’s eyes filled with tears. She embraced the young man with a heartfelt, “Yes.

Thursday, January 7 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 7 1965
Thursday, beautiful day, warm, no wind, cloudy in pm.  I washed and hung line full of sheets outside.  Wrote to Marilyn.  Cleaned wood house.  Lyle and Madylin rode to prayer meeting with me.  Took down clothes on the line, cleaned church.  Ella called in am and Ina Belle was up over new years, could have job in Schenectady last of January.

Ina Belle Hubbard

Comment: Sounds like a beautiful day....here is Ina Bell when younger

Wednesday, January 6, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 6, 1965
Wednesday, beautiful, sunny day, 30 high.  I cleaned and sewed on green dress Mother gave me for Christmas.  Myrtie called in pm and said Mary Schemerhorn was in Cobleskill Hospital.  David had to be to work 6 am.  Girls and I went to LaVerne and Roberta's at night.

Howe's  Cave, 1857

Comment: Ladies went to see John L. Myrtie is Myrtie Hall, a neighbor about a quarter mile on up the road living with her brother, Otis. On another note, just outside of Cobleskill is Howe Caverns, a worldwide, major tourist attraction about half an hour from Hubbard Hill that I managed to see when I was about thirty. Here is a link to the Caverns:

https://howecaverns.com/history/

Tuesday, January 5, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 5, 1965
Tuesday, partly cloudy, 30's.  Went to Middleburgh and to mother's for dinner.  Papa and Billie there too.  Had a package from Marilyn.  I cut green dress out at night.

Comment: Sign up day for unemployment, dinner in Richmondville with all of Mom's parents and step-parents....here is a picture of Middleburgh in the fifties....and here is a very interesting and concise history of Middleburg with interesting tidbits: Vrooman's Nose was originally called Corn Mountain, for instance. And I guess I never realized the severity of the Indian raids in the valley in the 1780s......take a look....you may have to copy and paste the link into your address bar but I think it's worth it....

https://theoldstonefort.org/town-of-middleburgh/#:~:text=The%20Town%20of%20Middleburgh%20was%20formed%20on%20March%2017%2C%201797,Schoharie%20Creek%20and%20its%20tributaries.

January 4, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 4, 1965
Monday, clear and sunny but cold and strong wind.  I washed and worked on Roberta's sweater and didn't like the sleeves; going to do them over.  David went to work but came home, too warm.

Comment: Too warm to make snow at Hunter apparently....

January 3, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 3, 1965
Sunday, cloudy and windy and cold, 20's.  Clifton took the girls and me to church and Sunday school and I went to church at night with Lyle's.  Susan spent the afternoon at Donna's.  David took Doug to Kingston at night.

First Snow In The Catskills

Comment:  Doug back to duty, triple church Sundays resume...

January 2, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 2, 1965
Saturday, cold, snow about 4-5 inches.  Didn't do too much, only got meals etc.  Mary Ann and Gerald left about 1:30.  Carol went to game at Andes.  Sue, Clifton and I went to LaVerne and Roberta's for evening.  LaVerne brought us home.

Comment: Sounds like a kinda bleak winter day.....here is what it looked liked from the front porch.....

Friday, January 1, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 1, 1965

Written on the inside front cover, "Silently he watches over me."

Friday,sunny in am, becoming cloudy, 20's.  I washed in am and girls and I cleaned the house.  David went down to Mary Briggs for dinner.  Gerald and Mary Ann came at night.
Comment: And another year begins. David and I with the girls we would eventually marry....I wonder if they knew just how lucky they were going to be at that time......

On that day, a Friday, the number 1 song was "I Feel Fine" by the Beatles, the top movies were "The Sound Of Music", "For A Few Dollars More" and Doctor Zhivago. Lyndon Johnson was Time's Man Of The Year and the 76th Tournament Of Roses Parade was being broadcast on NBC and ABC and I would bet that Mary and George Hallenbeck, (Mary Ann's parents) were watching as was Mary Ann and I. Probably the family was watching on Hubbard Hill also....