The Barryville-based nonprofit history education group The Delaware Company has announced that it will be presenting its two annual awards at this year’s Patriots & Loyalists Day celebration at Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History in Narrowsburg, NY on Saturday, July 12.

Every year since 2014, The Delaware Company has presented two awards. The first, the James W. Burbank Memorial Award, recognizes an outstanding contribution over the previous year to the promotion, support or preservation of the history or historic landmarks of the Upper Delaware River Valley and beyond. The President’s Award recognizes a long-term contribution to the promotion, support or preservation of the history or historic landmarks of the Upper Delaware River Valley or beyond.

The recipients for 2024, the awards for which will be presented this year, are Nancy Bachana, who will receive the Burbank award, and Bold Gold Media, which is being honored with the President’s Award.

Bachana has created walking trails through the long-abandoned and mostly forgotten Hackledam settlement along the Neversink River and regularly leads walking tours through the settlement. She has also created an online history of Hackledam and the Neversink River Unique Area, and has just published a children’s book about the D&H Canal titled “The Key to Puzzler’s Lock.”

Bold Gold Media, which operates 14 full-power radio stations in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pocono Lake and Catskills regions, including Sullivan County, NY, has long supported local history causes on and off the air, including sponsoring the Bold Gold Media Speaker Series at Fort Delaware for the past four years. Vince Benedetto is the founder and President/CEO of Bold Gold.

The awards will be presented at approximately 12:30 p.m. at Fort Delaware, immediately preceding the reading aloud of the Declaration of Independence and the Loyalist response, which will begin at 1 p.m. Admission to the Fort is necessary to attend the events.

Fort Delaware is located on the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway at 6615 Rte. 97. It is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in July and August unless otherwise noted.

John Conway
President, The Delaware Company
Barryville, NY