Transcript of Remarks by Wint Aldrich

State Parks Deputy Commissioner Wint Aldrich at Scenic Hudson press conference on July 7, 2010:

"What Scenic Hudson is accomplishing in this place is truly astonishing! In peeling back, layer by layer, the accretions of time, of presenting the archaeological and documentary record of what occurred here for a century (ending a century ago), of permitting us to experience through our stimulated imagination in this quiet, natural setting the noisy, fiery operations and accomplishments of one of the great pioneering industrial enterprises of our national past – we are witnessing the Hudson Valley's equivalent to the rescue of the Mayan and Khmer civilizations from the oblivion of the tropical jungles of Central America and Cambodia. We at State Parks are pleased that some years ago we were able to help fund this splendid work. My colleague Stacey Matson-Zuvic, a resident of Cold Spring, has been a key player in this.

"This project, with its affiliates at the Historical Society's Foundry School and the Chapel of Our Lady, combine to offer the best historic example of the Hudson Valley's tradition of commerce and industry. Lincoln came here on his only visit to the state during his presidency, to watch the Parrott gun blasting away at Crow's Nest, but this was more than a cannon factory; just about everything under the sun that could be usefully forged from iron emerged from the little ravine that is now a sylvan glade awash in birdsong and murmuring brook waters.

"And so we celebrate the listing of these extraordinary resources on the National Register of Historic Places, recently upgraded to the status of "nationally significant" –
status that qualifies the property to be a candidate for major federal support. And today it is my privilege, on behalf of Governor Paterson and my boss, State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash, to announce a 2009 Environmental Protection Fund grant to Scenic Hudson in the amount of $600,000 for the purpose of providing public amenities and access linkages for the visitors – visitors who will come in steadily increasing numbers to appreciate what one historian has called 'the machine in the garden.' For that is the most fascinating element here – the ability it gives us to see what WAS and what IS in one encompassing glance.

"This spur to heritage tourism will be good for the local economy but it will also be a boon in our quest for knowledge of the past and for repose and renewal of the spirit in nature."