The Early Years: Sources

Image Citations

Note that due to the preferences of the New York Heritage Digital Collections, all materials sourced from their database will be in the following order: Digital Collection, Holding Institution, Title, NYHDC, access date.

Images in order of Appearance

Ashokan Reservoir Collection, Town of Olive Clerk's Office through the Olive Free Library. "1913 Last Day at VanSteenburgh Home Before They Flooded it For Reservoir" New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 10, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/392/rec/1

Life Before the Reservoir Collection, Eleanor Arold private collection through the Olive Free Library. "The Lennox Homestead, July 1914." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 10, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/879/rec/1

Life Before the Reservoir Collection, Eleanor Arold private collection through the Olive Free Library. "Henry Dubois Homestead Built 1817 Photo Taken 1910." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/1043/rec/7.

Life Before the Reservoir Collection, Olive Free Library Archives. "Demolition of E.R. Matthews Residence for the Ashokan Reservoir." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 10, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/856/rec/1

Life Before the Reservoir Collection, Olive Free Library Archives. "Demolition of West Shokan." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/863/rec/1.

Ashokan Reservoir Collection, Town of Olive Clerk's Office through the Olive Free Library. "1907 Reservoir Construction." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 23, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/564/rec/3.

Life Before the Reservoir Collection, Olive Free Library Archives. "Farewell Reunion." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/1079/rec/1.

Bibliography

——"1907 Reservoir Construction." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 23, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/564/rec/3.

Life Before the Reservoir Collection, Eleanor Arold private collection via the Olive Free Library. "The Lennox Homestead, July 1914." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 10, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/879/rec/1.

— Olive Free Library Archives. "The Burgher House 1909." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 1, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/953/rec/6.

—— "E.R. Matthews Residence." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 10, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/860/rec/1.

—— ""Demolition of E.R. Matthews Residence for the Ashokan Reservoir." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 10, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/856/rec/1.

—— "Demolition of West Shokan." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/863/rec/1.

—— "Farewell Reunion." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/1079/rec/1.

—— "Henry Dubois Homestead Built 1817 Photo Taken 1910." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/1043/rec/7.

—— "Old West Shokan - Home of Mrs. Alida Krum - 1910." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 1, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/240/rec/8.

—— "Shokan, Before Reservoir Was Filled, 1910." New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed October 14, 2025. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll149/id/18/rec/11.

Onteora Record. “Annual Town Picnic Set for Olive.” August 27, 1958. Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers. https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=jaaggddf19580827-01.2.9&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------.

Rowe, Pat. “Olive Labor Day Picnic Spurred by Reservoir Birth.” Daily Freeman, September 3, 2004. https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2004/09/03/olive-labor-day-picnic-spurred-by-reservoir-birth/.

Direct Citations

"It's possible it may have originated with the Markle family holding a party at their homestead prior to New York City taking possession of their land on Labor Day 1909 (see image), although start dates of 1908 and 1914 are also reported in later years.." — "Annual Town Picnic Set for Olive" and "Farewell Reunion." The confusion regarding the date of the first Labor Day Reunion is primarily thanks to the error contained within the Onteora Record article "Annual Town Picnic Set for Olive." It states that the 44th annual reunion was occurring in 1958 (thus starting in 1914) then in the same article says that the reunions started in 1908. The addition of the 1909 start date comes from observation by the author that the reunion held by the Markles took place on the 1909 Labor Day, creating the possibility that an organized 1914 Reunion may have originated from/been inspired by the Markle's event.

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