Ulster County has been fortunate in the many resources which are a part of its natural environment. And the men and women of this area have been aware and appreciative of this endowment and have utilized much of it.

     Since the first white settlers penetrated this region, Ulster County has known the travails of taming a wilderness, and the satisfactions of creating a good life in this favored locality.

     The Indians were here first; then came the Dutch, the English, the French, the Irish, the Italians, and many others. And most of them were, like the Boll Weevil "Just a-lookin' for a home". And they found it, but not without making history and enduring the throes of a tortured adaptation to each other's differences.

     Out of all of this grew a large and dynamic cultural community which brings me to my point. With the exception of local historical groups and the statewide coverage of the New York Folklore Society, the folklore of Ulster County has received but scant attention. The newly formed Ulster County Folklore Society seeks to remedy this neglect through the individual and coordinated activities of its members, and more important still, to interest as many citizens of this area as possible to observe, inquire and report to the Society, such folklore as they may glean.

     We feel that folklore is the product of a people and that these people, or folk, who are the carriers of this valuable cultural product, are the ones to collect and report to our local folklore society, and to be made aware of what a precious heritage we possess and should share with others.

     We will hold occasional hootenanies or sings, and our most ambitious public project will be an annual Folk Festrival which will include folksinging and music, folk dancing, exhibition of folk crafts and musical instruments; in short, anything of a folk nature that is available and interesting to the public.

     This is a task that requires the cooperation of the entire community, and it seems to us that this is the sort of cultural undertaking that complements the splendid achievements of the Woodstock Music Festival, and that their co-sponsorship of a Folkmusic Festival will bring together many disparate elements of our community.

     The Ulster County Folklore Society cordially welcomes new members.

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(This publicity release has a handwritten date "1962". It is not known whether or not it was published in any Ulster County newspapers.  It became the unexpected preamble to the famous "Woodstock" event to be held a couple of years later. CG)