Bøger af Dave Thornton

In its early days, the tiny Village of Cambridge, NY had way more beer cellars and saloons than churches. And during that brief time when it was a "main line" stop for coach and rail travel, it sprouted hotels, halls and Inns like dandelions on a careless lawn. This is that story.

This tale, taken from the files of an ancient weekly newspaper, spells out some of the perils that beset the first Irish immigrants to settle in northeastern Upstate New York. Not that it is typical of mine and your Irish ancestors. Perhaps it is such aberrations as this that prove the rule (whatever that may be).

Stories of the involvement of a Upstate NY village in the military history of the United States.

The story of young women in a small, rural community to break out and appear on a broader stage. With the guidance of an inspired teacher, they achieved a level of performance never before seen in the Village, thereby setting a standard for the generations of women who followed.

A tiny Upstate New York community struggles for generations to maintain a traditional hotel as the center piece of its downtown. The process has more "downs" than "ups".

This is the history based tale of one particular Irish immigrant who found his way into Washington County, Upstate New York during the latter half of the 19th century. It is a murder story, the deed having taken place only the Hoosick River that serves as the border between Washington and Hoosick Counties, New York State.

Among conservative, hard-working individuals, change can come excruciatingly slow. Sometimes dynamic outside forces are required to push along the change. So it was in the formation of the Village of Cambridge, NY

These tales are based upon three vicious crimes committed in Old Cambridge District of Upstate, rural New York during the 19th century. Tools of the fiction writer have been used to bring the records to life, but the facts have not been altered.

Eagleville is a tiny hamlet located just west of the Vermont line along a famous trout stream known as The Battenkill. The story is based upon actual events that transpired in and around Eagleville in the late 19th century.

When we think of slavery in the USA we tend to look to the south. This book deals with slavery as it at one time existed in one small region of the Northeastern United States.

The communities in the Cambridge Valley of Upstate NY battled hard to bring the railroad. It became the life force for such agricultural villages, and "put them on the map"; that is, until Jay Gould had learned his "craft" and moved on.

As much as any individual from the American Civil War period of Old Cambridge history, RK Crocker urged, begged and finally prodded locals to answer Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers. At the time of "the War Between the States", he was editing a weekly newspaper in southern Washington County, Upstate NY. He came to believe ardently in the purposes of he war, and used his newspaper to promote the Yankee efforts. It wasn't always nice or pretty, but he got the columns and the ranks filled.

This is the story of the struggle of a tiny Upstate NY village to provide soldiers for the Union in the American Civil War.

A tiny village is being consumed by fires. Without a water system, how does it defend itself? Start with incorporation and purchase a quirky hand pumper. And then turn loose the volunteers! And when that fails, turn to the capitalists.

Before they died, many WW II Veterans of the Old Cambridge, NY District told their stories to the author. These were young men from rural America, inexperienced with violence, blood shed and death beyond the fall deer hunt. But they went to war. Some did ordinary things. Some did heroic things. But all DID THEIR DUTY!

This is the story of a 19th century community band. It is highly detailed, because the rivalries, confrontations, agreements and abandonments played across the tiny community's weekly newspaper. It is a remarkably detailed look into the life and times of old-time, small-time bandsmen.

From a small, upstate New York community in 1849 went forth young men and women to seek their fortunes in the gold fields of California. This historic account reports their successes and their sometimes tragic failures.

This is the history of one of the oldest working bands in the United States. It began as a military style parade band, and it is continuing as such to this day.

The history of The Old Cambridge District, which nestles along the eastern edge of NY State some 45 miles above Albany, is typical American small town, with significant emphasis on sports of all kinds. This chronologically written account covers major local sports from 1900 to 2000.

Moving from an elite boarding school with a few common schools serving the public to a unified, central district school serving all of the children of the community can be a slow, acrimonious, expensive endeavor. So it was with the subject of this chronicle.

The history of country fairs in Washington County, Upstate, NY spans 3/4ths of the 19th century; and a major contributor was the Village of Cambridge --- home to The Great Cambridge Fair. Essentially the product of one "giant" of a businessman, it became in NYState, second only to the annual State Fair. This is the story of The Great Cambridge Fair, its rise and its fall. dt

Like every community, there are in the Old Cambridge District bright spots we brag about and other spots that we try to scrub out or, failing that, cover up. Most of my books deal with the bright spots; this one looks at those we would rather cover up.

For decades, the tiny Village was the scene of warfare, a raging street fight between the enlightened, who wished to dry up the flow of booze from Main Street saloons, and those who regarded those saloons as second homes.