Renowned historian Kenneth Jackson headlines Friends of Taconic State Park’s 11th Annual Meeting and BBQ Supper on Saturday, July 20th beginning at 6 pm at the Copake Iron Works National Heritage Area Site in the Hudson Valley, 35 Valley View Road, Copake Falls, NY.
At the Friends’ annual meeting, Professor Jackson will discuss “Robert Moses and the Rise of New York.” Moses is legendary for his role in creating the system of New York State parks and parkways that includes Taconic State Park. Jackson’s observations on this important figure in New York history, about whom he has written extensively, promise to make for a fascinating and lively evening.
In addition to his book “Robert Moses and the Modern City,” Jackson is the acclaimed author of “Empire City: New York through the Centuries” and the epic “Encyclopedia of New York City,” about which the New York Times said, “no one with even a passing interest in New York will be able to live without it.”
Jackson is the recipient of numerous awards including the Alexander Hamilton Medal, Columbia University’s highest honor. He has been welcomed to Windsor Castle by Queen Elizabeth II, to the White House by President William Jefferson Clinton, and to the Governor’s Mansion in Albany by George Pataki. Nevertheless, Professor Jackson says he is most at home in the subways, back streets, and gritty neighborhoods of New York City where he has been leading all-night bicycle rides, three-hour walking tours, and all-day bus trips for decades.
Tickets for the event, including a barbecue supper prepared by popular pitmaster Ken Preusser, are $20 and available at ftspbbq.eventbrite.com or by phone at 518-329-3251.