August 13, 2014

Today I did not have to come in until 11. I again showed up early. Each time I drive to Rosendale, it seems to take a little less time, so even though I am giving myself less time to drive over, it doesn't seem to matter...

I got out my computer and started out by emailing people about volunteering for Pat's project. Then, I discussed my findings from last night. Pat greatly appreciated the names of some of the people involved in the history of natural cement production, such as Canvass White or John Littlejohn. Then, I did research on spray-on cement, because Pat wishes to make scarecrow type figures for the sculpture installation part of her project, and she wants them to appear to be made out of cement or concrete. So she needs something that will stick to fabric, have the appearance of concrete/cement, and be water/weatherproof. I could not find anything that is available at the average hardware store that would be ideal. The closest I could find is some sort of a concrete resurfacer, or to simply water down concrete and spread it over the fabric.

After lunch, we drove over to TrueValue to look at their cement. Then we went to a bike shop, so that Pat could equip her bike with a rack, allowing her greater mobility (she does not have a car). Next, we went to the Salvation Army store in New Paltz, because I knew they have a half-off sale on Wednesdays. After, we went to Lowe's, where Pat asked the employees about concrete, and acquired the phone number for a concrete manufacturer. Finally, we went to the Rosendale Library to see if they had any good resources for cement research. The librarian there, Linda, was tremendously helpful. She pulled out a big stack of binders with newspaper articles, pictures, stories, etc, about the history of Rosendale and cement. We agreed that I should come back there to continue the research the next day, and that I should get a library card in New Paltz, because that would also allow me to check books out from the Rosendale Library.

Once I got home, I successfully got a library card, and then I did more research about Rosendale, cement, and the Widow Jane Mine. Apparently there is a whiskey made using water from the Widow Jane Mine. This website had more information about the actual Widow Jane than I could find anywhere else. I'm not sure that it's very reliable information, but I suppose it counts as some sort of folklore, at least.