I don’t write too many “In Praise of Caesar” columns but I would be remiss if I let a certain rite of passage pass quietly in the dark. I’m talking about the impending retirement of Mary Curtis as the Park Historian for the Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River. 21 years after I first met her in Cochecton, Mary has decided to retire from the Park Service. I’m certain that recognition and honors will follow.

She’s already been honored by the Sullivan County Historical Society as the Historian of the Year. In l994, the National Park Service’s Northeast Regional Office honored her as Park Employee of the Year, the first time that a field Park Historian had been so honored in the Northeast Region.

Mary’s accomplishments on behalf of the valley’s cultural inheritance are almost too numerous to list. From her very first assignment in developing a Park Service handout entitled “Eddies and Rifts” to her final assignment of producing an Administrative History of the Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River, Mary has been a positive influence regarding the valley’s historic resources.

Mary never turned down an assignment and her cheerful disposition was ever there in good times or bad. When I asked her to ramrod the fledgling Upper Delaware Heritage Alliance, she did so willingly until the organization could stand on its own. When the River Management Plan was developed and university scholars descended upon us in search of those qualities that make the valley unique, Mary was the “go to” person. Her work on the Cultural Resources section of the  River Management Plan has stood the test of time.

Speaking of talking( am I being redundant?), Mary’s talks on the valley’s history are well known and have been attended by thousands of people over the years. Her “Onion Field Massacre” talk in Milanville is probably her most famous. Mary also developed an outstanding oral history program with the help of former Park Service employee, Kitty Womer. The tapes from this program will be invaluable to scholars in years to come.

It was Mary who developed and carried through the long range program to put the valley’s cultural resources on the National Register of Historic Places. Her success was dramatic and resources as diverse as the Long Eddy Cemetery Chapel , the Zane Grey House and practically the entire village of Equinunk were added to the National Register. To accomplish this she single-handedly convinced the State Historic Preservation Officers in Pennsylvania and New York that the Upper Delaware had all of these historic resources and the states should recognize them. In doing this, she played hostess to many visits by state personnel to look at the buildings, churches, a battlefield and everything else associated with the valley’s history.

Mary was one of the first committee members to serve on the Cochecton Preservation Society in their effort to save the Cochecton railroad station, presumably the oldest in New York State. This effort has been a great success thanks to the efforts of the Society and Mary.

As I said in the beginning, I’m not used to writing “In Praise of Caesar” columns but an “In Praise of Mary Curtis” one will last me for a long time.