RosenRaps: Susan by Maria at the Lion’s Club Meeting
Jan 24, 2024
M: Susan, how did you come to live here?
S: As a child, my parents bought property in 1957, and we came up for summers only. And then in 1971, my father built another house on the property, and they sold the house that we used to have. And my parents and my two brothers moved up permanently. I did not drive. And I said, I’m not living up there if I can’t go anywhere. And I liked my job. So I stayed in Brooklyn, and I came up on weekends. And then in 2016, I moved up permanently, because my mother was ill. My father had passed away years before.
M: Where would you take a friend or relative if they were visiting Rosendale for the first time?
S: On a Sunday we would go to the farmer’s market. And they have music there sometimes, which is nice also. Or we would go to Snyder Estate and go walking around there and seeing the mine and the different sights, or go on the rail trail.
M: Yeah, those are all really fun things, right? How did you know when you wanted to live here, for good? You were here as a kid, But how did you decide to stay here?
S: I always eventually wanted to live here.
M: What would you miss if it wasn’t here?
S: I guess the community feeling, I grew up in Brooklyn. I had friends there, but it wasn’t the same. And here, everybody knows everyone. And which is a good thing. Could be bad things sometimes, but mostly it’s a good thing. And it’s just that tight-knit feeling.
M: Let me, let’s see. What would make staying here easier?
S: Well, I’ve had the opportunity to just stay in Brooklyn, and I chose to stay here instead. It was difficult in the beginning, because I didn’t know very many people. But now I know a lot of people. I joined a lot of different organizations. I joined Sips. I joined the Lions Club. That’s how I met Bill. I joined Marbletown seniors, and I joined a couple of other things.
M: So you’ve really found that a great way of engaging?
S: Yeah. And I liked doing volunteer work. I missed my job.
M: What was your job?
S: I was a pediatric occupational therapist. I worked with itty bitties, little ones.
M: Wow. I had something I wanted to ask you about after this. What is one of your favorite memory in Rosendale?
S: The Sunday Farmers Market, and Bill and I were just walking around, and we sat, and we listened to music, and we ate some of the things that we purchased, and talked to people nearby. And it was just really… It was like a picnic outside. It was nice.
M: I love that, too. I really do. Those donuts. Right? Do you have any thoughts or ideas that you would like to see happen in Rosendale?
S: Well, I was agreeing with somebody else that I think some of the buildings that have been empty for a long time, they should be utilized in a better way. Either, like, maybe stores on the bottom, and possibly housing on top. Like, they did in New Paltz. That’s really nice.
M: I Like that place, too. Yeah.
S: They did a really good job with that.
M: Yep.
S: And even I was saying the church, but I don’t know. It’s empty now.
M: That’s what I hear at St. Peter’s Church.
S: St. Peter’s Church. I mean, we used to go there for mass when we were young. There’s a lot of square footage there. And it’s a beautiful building. I mean, it’s a shame that it’s just…
M: So, what do you think about our community as important to continue into the future?
S: I like the fact that it is a small community. And people are generally friendly. But yet respect your space. And they’re not in your face. And it feels like a more casual place. It’s not like, run, run, run, run, run. It’s not the intensity of where I came from from Brooklyn. And it just feels more relaxed.
M: And so you were drawn from that to that when you were a teenager.
S: Yeah.
M: Actually, I started coming when I was seven. I remember one of my first memories of Rosendale, because we were in high force, was going to the movie theater. And it was the man that owned it, he was so nice. He used to let us run around the place before the movie started. And then also going to the pool. I don’t remember how old I was. It was not the first summer, but later on. I would go to the pool with my mom and my brothers.
M: The pool is so much fun when you’re a kid, isn’t it?
S: Yeah.
M: It’s a highlight. Is there anything else that you would like to share about your experience in Rosendale that you think would help our project? I mean, you must have a lot of insight from all the volunteer work that you’ve done. You’ve seen a lot of aspects of the community that other people haven’t.
S: In a way, it’s a very tight knit community, but it’s relaxed. It’s not like on the go, go, go, go, go. It’s like a lot gets done, but in a very, like (trying to think of the word, I can’t think of the exact word I want to use), but it’s a nice flow.
M: So the pace, kind of, yeah, that’s interesting. I like that too.
S: I’m like, things get done. And people help other people, they don’t even have to ask. Which is really nice.
M: I think that’s it. Okay. Great. Thank you so much. Now, I have to ask if you would mind finding a release form. So we can share your words.
