The Walls Talk

BY MARK SIMONSON

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Over the years there have been many donations of items from former hotels, businesses and houses of worship to the society, and these will now be housed within the restored buildings. The counter to be used in the ice-cream shop is coming from the former Shockley’s Drug Store in Sharon Springs.

Promising Preservation

The lack of space at the museum spurred the society to take on this massive project. Ketelsen describes himself as a visionary regarding the possibilities for the museum.

“When I first talked to the society’s board of directors, they said there’s ‘absolutely no way we could take on something this big,’” he said. “They asked where we could get the money to do all this, and I had an idea. I knew a man named Nicholas Juried, who grew up here in Schoharie County, and loves the historical aspects of the county.”

While 93 and living in Austin, Texas, Juried was contacted by Ketelsen. Juried thought it was a tremendous idea and sent a sizeable check to the society to buy the property for the historical village, as well as another check to get started on the restoration. Donation of a few hundred thousand dollars to date by Juried has made this possible.

Ketelsen said Juried has donated funds to projects in Schoharie County such as The Gathering Place in Cobleskill, a museum build- ing in Gilboa, another museum in Jefferson and The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave. “He’s taken a huge interest in this project,” Ketelsen said.

A public appeal for funding is also in progress by the Sharon Springs Historical Society, with plans to build an endowment fund to maintain the project once completed.

Much of the building materials, windows and fixtures have been re-purposed for the historic village project. While some of the labor is volunteer-based, most of the reconstruction is being done by paid independent contractors, working on daily to get the village completed during summer. An official opening date will be announced soon.

Bringing vigor to the village

Ketelsen is fairly new to Sharon Springs. He came to the area in 2014, following a career as an executive in human resources in Silicon Valley, California. Ketelsen owns the Roseboro Hotel in Sharon Springs, which itself has undergone a major restoration in recent years.

Life in Silicon Valley grew tiresome for Ketelsen, as he sought somewhere more peaceful and quiet. Originally, he’d hoped to buy a farm in Vermont, but the deal got away from him. It was the wellknown Beekman Boys of Sharon Springs who contacted Ketelsen, encouraging him to take on the Roseboro Hotel project.

“So, it doesn’t scare me to take on another big project like this,” he said. “I love to be creative, and this is definitely giving us an opportunity to do that.” The project, he noted, began without blueprints and is progressing as it grows.

Ketelsen got involved in historic preservation because of The Roseboro.

“I just felt that there is so much history being lost, and that the membership base of the historical society is aging,” he said. Ketelson is working to not only bring in money, but also new interest and membership to ensure the society’s longevity.

The historic village is planned as a tourist destination, and between the Sharon Springs and Schoharie County Chambers of Commerce, it will be marketed well. Ketelsen has worked on previous tourism projects with both. Also, watch The Daily Star for announcement of the grand opening event.

The Sharon Springs Historical Society Museum, in its current building, as well as the adjacent Chestnut Street Schoolhouse, is from 1 to 4 p.m., Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Labor Day Weekend. Sneak peeks at the project’s progress are welcomed.

Follow project progress or donate by visiting sharonhistoricalsocietyny.org. +

Historian Mark Simonson grew up in Oneonta. He has worked in public relations, marketing and broadcast journalism. Simonson was appointed Oneonta City Historian in 1998. He writes a historical column in The Daily Star and has published books highlighting local and regional history. Here, Simonson shares stories about old buildings of interest in the upstate region.

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