Parks-Bentley Place
Where History Comes Alive!
Home of the Historical Society of Moreau and South Glens Falls
What's Happening
Launch of new book
Dear Friend:
Letters from Union Soldier
Gustavus Wintermeyer to John A. Bentley
The Historical Society of Moreau and South Glens Falls has recently published a book of letters from a Civil War soldier to John Bentley, who grew up in the Glens Falls area. Titled “Dear Friend: Letters from Union Soldier Gustavus Wintermeyer to John A. Bentley”, the book includes thirty letters depicting what military life was like in the 1860s.
The letters were discovered when a volunteer was transcribing a larger collection of correspondence donated to the Historical Society by the Smith family of South Glens Falls. Given the great detail and personal thoughts about the conflict that were included in the letters, volunteer Christine A. Hogan-Kilburn offered to turn the missives into a book that would be used as a fundraiser for Parks-Bentley Place.
“The fact that the correspondence provides an intimate look at the day-to-day life of a Union soldier, as well as the letters’ connection to the Bentley family, made the development of the book an easy decision,” said Historical Society officer Nancy Purinton.
In The News
Parks-Bentley annual nativity exhibition brings record crowds
This year’s exhibition, titled Forging Christmas: Nativities of Substance saw record crowds with more than 500 visitors touring the displays.
Open from late November through December 30,the exhibition grouped nativities by their composition, such as glass, wood, metal, cloth, stone and ceramic.
Each room of the first floor of the historic Parks-Bentley house held specially chosen nativity sets showing the unique perspective on the nativity scene by the country from which they came.
