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New Deal Idealism At Camp Woodland, Near Woodstock

August 18, 2019 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

the improbable communityCamp Woodland was founded in 1939 by a group of idealists inspired by the New Deal who put American democracy into practice by creating an inclusive summer camp for city kids in the Catskills near Phoenicia, in Ulster County, NY.

Although detractors would refer to it as “Camp Red” during the McCarthy era, they helped to incubate the folk music movement in America, influenced music in Woodstock, and brought together city and rural communities through the collection and preservation of Catskills folklore and folk music.

Author and civil rights attorney Bill Horne tells the story in his book, The Improbable Community: Camp Woodland and the American Democratic Ideal.

Book Purchases made through this Amazon link help support New York Almanack‘s mission to report new publications about the history of New York.

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Filed Under: Books, Events, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Catskills, New Deal, Political History, Social History, Ulster County, Woodstock

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Comments

  1. Daniel Botkin says

    June 4, 2020 at 12:59 PM

    HI Mickey
    I think I got an email from you, but it has disappeared. Anyway, I would like to be in contact with you after all these years. You can reach me on my cell phone, 917-747-308. I now live in N Y City.

    Dan Botkin

    Reply

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