Ann: I feel like I was born and raised here. I have been here for so many years. My husband, Karl, and I wanted to open a children’s camp. In 1962 we found a perfect place for the camp on Tillson Lake Road in Gardiner. We decided to leave New York City and make the camp our permanent home. After 20 years of owning the camp, we sold it and moved into town.
Tell me about Camp Thoreau.
Karl: The campers were mostly from New York City’s progressive families. It was a tradition to sing the political songs of the time. We sang “We Shall Overcome,” and “We Shall Not Be Moved” — the peace songs popular in the 1960’s. We offered winter camps, a Christmas camp too.
How did Handmade begin?
Ann: First, I bought the building which housed the old D and D Auto Supply. Then, I wanted to open a store showcasing all handmade goods created by local artisans and also a space to house a dance studio for my friend Brenda Bufalino. The studio was called The Dancing Theater.
I didn’t predict it would be such a success. I thought it would be just a place for the local people to find what they were looking for … maybe you find it, maybe you wouldn’t. In the beginning, it was all handmade items. Before we opened, we accumulated items we kept at home until we had enough. One was a big beautiful quilted turtle we hoped would be the centerpiece at the opening. Unfortunately, someone who was very persuasive named Susan Slotnick came and bought it out of our bedroom before the store was even open! The customers were lovely hippie dippy people, not New York City sophisticates. The people we sold to and the people we brought from became our friends. Those days were among the best days of our lives.
What were your first impressions of New Paltz at the time?
Ann: Before we moved into town we had friends here, so the town was not new to us. Karl taught in the education department at the college. I got involved with politics. When anyone was raising funds, mostly the Democrats, but others as well, Handmade was where you could purchase the tickets. I was the head of the Downtown Business Association. We fought to stop Walmart from coming here.
If you left here tomorrow never to return, what would you miss?
Karl: Right now what we would miss is Woodland Pond. It’s wonderful here. It’s a wonderful friendly neighborhood. I would miss getting up in the morning, looking at the Mohonk Tower. I would miss the Ridge, Gertrude’s Nose where our camp was located. We haven’t lived here the whole time. For 20 years we lived on Sanibel Island. We moved back at this stage of our lives because of friends and history. You cannot have that in a new place. This is and has been our lifelong home.
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