Saturday, July 18, 2009

Politicians Can Sing



I am pleased that I got a chance to participate in the Quadricentennial Celebration. Here I am flanked by Newburgh's mayor Valentine and orange County Executive Ed Diana. It was a hot day for a tuxedo, but I was re-enacting the presence of Ulysses J. Alsdorf. In 1909, he wrote the music for the Hudson Fulton Celebration: Dear Hudson Fulton Days. Of course, we sang the song and had a few laughs about the words:

Dear Hudson Fulton Days
Dear Hudson Fulton Days
Achievements great we celebrate get on the job and fly.
Our river beats the Rhine
Steam Navigation's fine.
For you we'll blow, blow, blow ourselves
Toot toot...bye bye.

Now in 1909, Newburgh Bay hosted a full flotilla of several hundred boats. And during this song, all the boats tooted their horns. It must have been quite an event.

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