The celebrated theater director Max Reinhardt, recognized in America primarily for his elaborate productions of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Franz Werfel’s The Eternal Road, and Karl Vollmoeller’s The Miracle, was born in 1873 at Baden near Vienna, Austria and died in New York City in 1943. Reinhardt’s illustrious career takes on added significance because it coincides with a major shift in the evolution of the modern theater: the ascendancy of the director as the key figure in theatrical production. Reinhardt’s reputation in international theater history is secured by the leading role he played in this transformation, as well as by his innovative use of new theater technology and endless experimentation with theater spaces and locales, which together redefined traditional relationships between actor and audience toward a new participatory theater.

The Maverick Art Colony was founded in 1905 by by Harvard graduate turned social activist, author, idealist and bohemian, Hervey White. Music was a crucial part of the colony, and it drew many musicians and artists over the years. In 1916, Hervey began hosting a chamber music concert series featuring both amateur and acclaimed musicians. This series, called The Maverick Sunday Concerts, continue to this day.

The Maverick Art Colony was founded in 1905 by by Harvard graduate turned social activist, author, idealist and bohemian, Hervey White. Music was a crucial part of the colony, and it drew many musicians and artists over the years. In 1916, Hervey began hosting chamber music concerts featuring both amateur and acclaimed musicians. These concerts continue to be held to this day.

When asked about performing at The Maverick, musician and founding music director of the National Orchestral Association Leon Barzin noted that, "From the very beginning, music at the Maverick was a unique effort of professionals and amateurs”. He also stated that, “from the very first performance there was a delightful mixture of formality and informality. Nothing in Woodstock can ever be completely formal." Barzin was just one member of a diverse gathering of musicians who played in the concerts. Prominent performers also included Pierre Henrotte, concert-master of the Metropolitan Opera House, George Barrere, internationally renowned flutist and Boris Koutzen, gifted composer and member of the first violin section of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The Maverick Art Colony was founded in 1905 by by Harvard graduate turned social activist, author, idealist and bohemian, Hervey White, when he and Fritz van der Loo purchased a farm in the Hutley Patentee Woods. Hervey envisioned the farm becoming a new art colony, where the old restrictions on individual freedoms would be put aside. Hervey's creed for the Maverick colony was simply put, "Do what you want to (as long as you don't harm others)."

The short geographic distance between Greenwich Village in New York City and Woodstock in upstate New York, brought artists, musicians, social reformers and intellectuals to Woodstock. Life quickly became more unconventional and bohemian, as viewed by the more conventional Woodstockers. Feelings of unfriendliness between the locals and the newcomers intensified. Hervey believed that he could placate the local residents by providing musical performances, and at first, chamber music was performed for a small fee in Woodstock's Fireman's Hall. The audiences grew rapidly and it became apparent that people were willing to pay to hear the well played classical chamber music. Hervey began to look for a suitable concert hall, hoping it could be found at his Maverick farm.

By 1915, summer residencies at the Maverick Art Colony increased to more than twenty-five cabins, and so did the need for water and creature comforts. After having a well drilled an astonishing five-hundred and fifty feet deep, Hervey was faced with a bill for fifteen hundred dollars, far more than he expected. Plans to raise money for paying this bill turned into the organization of the first Maverick Festival.

Using available resources, Hervey and friends converted a stone quarry on the Maverick property into an open-air theater. Seating, a stage and an orchestra pit were built and picnic grounds are where the present Maverick Concert Hall stands and the long running Maverick Summer Concert Series performances are still held today. Hervey viewed the Maverick Festivals as an opportunity for all people, whether involved in the arts or not, to share in the festival pageantry, wearing fantastic costumes, picnicking around campfires, and enjoying numerous performances.

Maurice Leyden was born 1836 in Collamer, Onondaga County. He attended Cazenovia [New York] Seminary and high school in Syracuse, New York. He obtained his dental education under the tutelage of Dr. Amos Westcott. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Leyden enlisted in the 3rd New York Cavalry, rising to the rank of Captain. In 1865 he was transferred to the Fourth Provisional Cavalry and mustered out in 1869.

After his military service ended Leyden opened a dental practice in Rochester, Monroe County, New York. Here he resided with his wife Margaret, a Rochester native, and his two daughters, Maude, who died in infancy, and Blanche.

Maureen Paula O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress. She was married to the director John Farrow and had seven children with him (one of whom was actress Mia Farrow). After being widowed for twenty years, O’Sullivan was married to her second husband, James Cushing, a Niskayuna, NY businessman, from August 22, 1983 until her death in 1998.

From 1986 to 1987 the Adirondack Museum commissioned Mathias Oppersdorff to photograph a selection of Adirondack residents. About 75 people in the Adirondack Park and the surrounding region were photographed in their familiar environments showcasing them at home, work, and outside doing various activities. This assignment resulted in a 1989 traveling exhibition sponsored by the Museum titled Adirondack Faces, and a 1991 publication of the same title.

Masten Park High School was the second public high school in Buffalo, New York. It opened in 1897 on the East Side of Buffalo in the Masten Park neighborhood. By 1900, MPHS had enrolled over 1,100 students, as the population of Buffalo soared. A fire during the school day on March 27, 1912, which almost completely destroyed the building. At great cost, the school was rebuilt and reopened in 1914. The building is renowned for its architectural influences, and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The yearbooks chronicle the students, staff and faculty of the school, and its famous Principal Dr. Frank Sheldon “Fearless” Fosdick. The building served as home to three more Buffalo Public Schools: Fosdick-Masten High School, Girls Vocational High School, and City Honors School.