Veterans Day Memorial Show

Shortly after the conclusion of the Second World War Anita Smith—at the behest of James T. Shotwell—sent every member of the armed forces, men and women, in Woodstock, NY, a questionnaire to fill out. Many former members responded with service photos, letters and filled-out forms. These were collected into a database that was presented to the town. In addition, some of the responses formed part of a chapter of Anita Smith's Woodstock History and Hearsay. This chapter was titled "The Soldiers' Stories: Woodstockers Share Their War Experiences." Pictured at left is an artistic sketch of Woodstock's Observation Post, Adam 51.

On November 7th, in honor of Veteran's Day, the Historical Society of Woodstock will present The Faces of World War II—Woodstockers Go to War. The exhibit will feature more than 70 photographs of service personnel from Smith's database. The show will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, November 7/8 and November 14/15, at the Society museum, 45 Comeau Drive.

In addition, Anita Smith's book includes a reference section that lists the 288 responses to the questionnaire. Exhibit-goers can look up all 70 service persons in the show and obtain a brief abstract of their armed forces record from her book.

Woodstock History and Hearsay/Early Days

James T. Shotwell, the great worker for peace and a Bryce Professor Emeritus of the History of International Relations, Columbia University asked Anita Smith to compile a database of all the men and women who served during the Second World War. This project, together with research gathered since the founding of the Historical Society of Woodstock in 1931, served as a foundation for Woodstock History and Hearsay.

The book is a balance of painstaking scholarship and folkloric tales gathered first-hand at quilting and canning parties from hardy Catskill mountain farmers and hunters. In addition, Smith who was a painter wrote countless vignettes about the denizens of the early golden age of the Woodstock art colony—including such notables as George Bellows, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Philip Guston, Henry Morton Robinson, Hervey White, Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead, Doris Lee, Helen Hayes, Charles Rosen and many, many more.

This title was the town’s first official history. Smith also wrote an herbal, As True As The Barnacle Tree; an art book, The Landscape of History; and a family memoir, The Quest of Abel Knight: The Quakers and The Shakers.