HISTORY ON THE AIR
Bill Ford’s radio series brings the past of Ulster County’s municipalities to life
Bill Ford readily concedes his older brother Ed is really the history buff in the family. The 99-year-old elder Ford has been the city of Kingston historian for more than 66 years, was one of the founders of Friends of Historic Kingston, and led the fight to save Kingston City Hall from demolition.
But the 94-year-old younger Ford brother, known as a prolific letter writer who has championed a variety of causes in front of the Kingston Common Council and Ulster County Legislature, said that, over the years, his brother’s love of history — and particularly local history — has rubbed off.
Now, the younger Ford is trying to do his part to bring local history to life through a weekly radio program on WKNY 1490 AM.
Saturday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m., Ford takes to the airwaves with former Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo for the callin program “Speak Out.”
Recently, Ford decided to use the second hour of the program to focus on the histories of Ulster County’s 20 towns, three
villages and city.
Each Saturday, Ford invites the historian, or in those municipalities that don’t have a historian, the town supervisor, in to talk about their respective municipality’s origins.
“It occurred to me that every town has something to say and it doesn’t get said,” Ford said.
His first two guests were New Paltz historian Susan Stessin-Cohn and village of Saugerties historian Margery Block.
“I was amazed at the history of Saugerties, absolutely amazed,” said Ford, noting that he learned through Block that those ubiquitous black-and-white bound notebooks were once produced in Saugerties,
and that the Ulster County town is the only town in the country bearing the name Saugerties.
“That’s the history I like to bring out,” he said. “I’m trying to make local history come alive.”
Ford said he hopes to run the program through September, with his brother Ed being the last guest in the series.
“Basically, I’m trying to bring in a different one each week and I’m trying to make it from different geographic areas to mix them up,” he said.
Ford said he and his older brother grew up in Kingston, but added that, as soon as he graduated from high school, “I left for New York City to seek my fortune.”
After a stint in the Army, Ford returned to Kingston for a time, then left again, ultimately ending up in Texas with his wife, the former
Thelma Van Demark, of High Falls.
When his wife died in 2014, Ford said he decided to move back to Kingston to be near his brother.
Ford said while he sees himself as a “crusader” — taking on issues such as plans to convert the UlsterDelaware rail corridor into a walking trail (Ford favored keeping the Catskill Mountain Railroad on the tracks) and the planned sale of the Cioni Building by the Kingston School District (he wants the school board to keep the historic building he once attended) — his brother’s love for history is something he shares.
His goal through the radio show, he said, is to “make local history come alive.”
“It’s like opening a window for every town, that’s what I’m trying to do,” he said.