The mission of the Heermance Memorial Library is to inspire lifelong learning and to support and enhance the cultural and recreational needs of our community. In her 1907 will, Eleanor Heermance bequeathed her home to establish a library for the town of Coxsackie. To this day, her library provides not only books, but movies, music, audio and e-books, computer and Internet access, programs, and friendly staff.

Harvey Fite was a student at St. Stephen's College until 1930. He returned as a professor, teaching classes in drama and sculpture at Bard College from 1934-1969. Harvey Fite was a vital force in the Bard community, and he helped to shape the college even while he worked to create the monumental landscape work which became Opus 40.

Hartwick Seminary, the first Lutheran Seminary in America, was founded in September 1797. Dr. John Christopher Kunze was named director and taught theology at his home in New York City, Rev. Anthony Braun taught sciences and languages at Albany, and Rev. John Frederick Ernst taught elementary school on the Hartwick Patent.The first seminary building was established on the Hartwick Patent in 1815, and Rev. Ernest Lewis Hazelius became the first principal. The seminary offered an academy and a theological department. In 1816 it was incorporated with 12 trustees appointed, the majority of whom were to be Lutheran clergymen. During the first 20 years the school averaged between 60 and 70 students. The enrollment dropped nearly in half in the late 1830's and 1840's. Women were admitted for the first time in 1851 bringing the enrollment to 89 and in the 1880's it was over 100. In 1888 the Classical Department introduced the Freshman year of a Collegiate Course and in 1927 it expanded to a 4-year college and was moved to Oneonta, New York. The Theological Department took the name Hartwick Seminary when it moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1930. The Seminary closed in the spring of 1940 and consolidated with Hartwick College in 1947. The Academy remained on the original location until 1934 when classes ceased.

Hartwick College was founded in 1797, under the provisions of the will of John Christoper Hartwick, as the first Lutheran Seminary in America. The first Seminary building was erected in 1815 on the Hartwick Patent in upstate New York. In 1888 the Classical Department introduced the freshmen year of a collegiate course and in 1928 it expanded to a four-year liberal arts college and was moved to Oneonta, New York. Today, Hartwick College is an independent, liberal arts and sciences college of about 1400 students and 150 faculty. The College Archives was officially established in 1973 and exists primarily to collect and preserve materials that reflect the biography of John Christopher Hartwick and the educational institutions bearing his name – Hartwick Seminary, Hartwick Academy and Hartwick College.

Harry Bruno (1893-1978) led a dynamic, fascinating life. When he wasn’t creating history himself, he was directly touched by it. (Bruno’s parents died on the Lusitania; Harry pulled Captain Ernst Lehmann from the blazing Hindenburg in 1937.)
From an early age, Harry was hooked on aircraft, engines and machines. He built a glider when he was 17 and flew in the Canadian Royal Flying Corp during World War I. His knowledge about airplanes and their construction resulted in Bruno becoming the nation’s leading aviation advertiser.
Promotion came naturally to Harry. Along with a friend, Richard Blythe, Harry created the advertising agency Bruno & Blythe. The firm carried a client list that read like a Who’s Who of American innovation: Igor Sikorsky, William Bendix, Standard Oil, Packard Motor Car Company.
Nydia de Sosnowska (d. 1970), a musical comedy star (Nydia D’Arnell), won Harry’s heart. They married in 1930 and moved to Montauk. (Carl Fisher had hired Bruno to promote interest in Montauk as a resort playground.)
Harry and Nydia were sportsmen who loved fishing and hunting. Nydia, an accomplished surfcaster, set several records. Entertaining in “Green Chimneys,” their large, rambling stucco, the Brunos’ home was also affectionately known to their friends as “Bruno’s Bistro.”
The photographs in this collection speak of a happy life well lived. Green Chimneys had exalted views of the Atlantic Ocean, Block Island Sound, and the Brunos’ extensive gardens. It was bucolic, beautiful, and serene.

The St. Lawrence-Lewis School Library System collection consists of high school yearbooks from area high schools. The Pirate’s Log is the annual yearbook of the Harrisville Central School.

Harriet Martin (1868-1949) was a niece of Edward Martin (1811-1893), a wealthy Red Hook farmer and railroad pioneer. Edward purchased land in Illinois from the railroad companies and made his fortune in real estate. Harriet, born in Illinois, traveled between there and Red Hook and, using dry plate photography, documented her visits to various sites in Chicago and in Red Hook. She married Marvin Hull Dey, of Iowa City, in 1907 and is buried there. The original donation of her glass plate negatives to the Red Hook-Tivoli Bicentennial Committee was arranged by Sylvester Pulver and Louise Pulver Breazzano, descendants of the Pulvers who worked for the Martins. Clara Losee later donated the slides to the Egbert Benson Historical Society, predecessor to Historic Red Hook.

The Town of Amherst, located in Erie County, New York, is a 54-square mile suburban community north of the City of Buffalo. Today Amherst includes the Village of Williamsville and the hamlets of Eggertsville, Getzville, Snyder, Swormville, and East Amherst. The Jacob Hardy farm was located at 2050 North French Road in Amherst, NY, across the street from the Dettmer farm. The Philip Hardy farm was on Campbell Boulevard, near Schoelles. While only a handful of working farms remain in operation in Amherst today, the northern section of the town was once entirely agricultural. These photographs are from an album belonging to the donor, Marguerite Hardy. Mrs. Hardy allowed Amherst Museum to scan the album contents and then to accession the digital scans.