Freshly repaired and repainted Village of Sloatsburg historical markers, which were delivered back to the village by Glenn Sungela of Congers, NY.
The project started back in October after a tip at a Harmony Hall event. Members of the Historical Society of Rockland County were attending a fall event and mentioned that Glenn Sungela of Congers, NY, volunteered his time to refurbish historic signs in Rockland and Bergen counties.
Sloatsburger Kathy Goldman, a board member of The Friends of Harmony Hall as well as a member of the Sloatsburg Revitalization Committee, helped coordinate the project that would see all five of Sloatsburg’s historical markers uprooted for Sungela to repair. The markers indentify significant sites in Sloatsburg, several of which have been recognized by the National Historic Registry. The signs mark Sloatsburg’s colorful past and include the Sloat House & Inn on Route 17, the Glenwood Hotel (now Characters Restaurant & Bar), the Town of Ramapo Sloatsburg Cemetery, and Sloat’s Dam and Brown’s Gate which are now on Rockland County Parks property.
Over the winter, Sungela repainted Sloatsburg’s historical markers, including adding a clear coat to help retain the bight blue paint, while also repairing parts signs that had rusted or deteriorated due to weather.
Goldman said that the signs were first purchased and installed some 20 years ago under the tenure of former Village Historian Eugene (Gene) Kuykendall, who worked with the Sloatsburg Historical Society to get funding for the signs. Kuykendall, who passed away around 2001, was an acknowledged expert on all things Sloatsburg. His book Historic Sloatsburg, 1738-1998, The Way it Was, Is and Can Be, Sloatsburg Historical Society, 1998, is cited on the Sloatsburg, NY, Wikipedia page and can be found in the History Room at the Sloatsburg Public Library.
Village of Sloatsburg historical signs before they received new paint and clear coat finish by Glenn Sungela of Congers. Sungela worked on the signs as part of his volunteer work with historical societies in Rockland and Bergen counties. The markers were purchased by a Sloatsburg Historical Society initiative some 20 years ago, when the group was led by then Village Historian Gene Kuykendall. The markers have been reinstalled around the village by the Sloatsburg Department of Public Works.
Goldman recalled how Kuykendall was particular about choosing the signs exuberant blue color and yellow trim, along with the particular historical messages.
The Sloatsburg Historic Society worked with the Sloatsburg Department of Public Works, under Mike DeMartino, to take down the signs and then reinstall them this spring.
An historical marker rededication ceremony may be planned as part of the overall Sloatsburg 90th Celebration this year.
