Yesterday's Farm, Today: 100 years of farming history at SUNY Cobleskill's Van Wagenen Library and the Schoharie County Historical Society

Material Description

We will be digitizing the life's work of Harold Tolles, nearly 90,000 photo negatives amassed over the last forty years. During his lifetime Mr. Tolles photographed almost every major event in Schoharie County and its boarding regions. In addition to parades, gatherings, automobile accidents and town fairs, Mr. Tolles was also hired by many of the local high schools to capture student photographs, award ceremonies, and performances. For local families and genealogists, Mr. Tolles' collection has been invaluable, as many families in our region lost their photo albums in the floods of 2011. In addition to Harold Tolles' collection, we will be digitizing nearly 200 years of land deeds and regional maps housed in the Schoharie County Historical Society. Over the last five years, the maps and land deeds have been of particular scholarly interest, as the present generation, exponentially more so than that of the previous generation, have vested interest in organic, locally monitored farms and food. By digitizing the Tolles collection, maps, land deeds, and Van Wagenen's collection of rare, local farm related documents, historical journals, glass slides, and campus newsletters, we will make available regional and agriculture material to help enrich and educate the current wave of farmers as they work to underscore the importance of grassroots, locally owned farms.