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PV Historical Society to Honor Stephen L. Andersen - Historian, Musician, Teacher
by Edward Paul Greiff
Stephen L. Andersen, a gentle giant of historical and musical intellect who shares all that is in his domain with all who seek him out.
On Sunday, June 3, 2007 the Putnam Valley Historical Society, at their annual meeting and fund raiser being held at Hanlon's Steakhouse from 6 to 8pm, plans to honor Putnam Valley's Town Historian Stephen L. Andersen for his many, many years of volunteering to be the curator of the Town's historical records. His collection of photos, letters, documents, and knowledge about Putnam Valley is without equal.
What started out as a mild curiosity of Anderson's to track down clues about the origin and history of documents and the people who wrote them, has turned into a passion that challenged his intellectual curiosity along with his love of music and teaching.
Stephen Andersen was born on June 26, 1943 in Mount Kisco Hospital. His father was a State Trooper and left the force in 1946 to become a carpenter. As a Trooper he earned $900 a year, had to live in the barracks, and only had off three days a month, not very good for a newly married man.
Stephen's parents bought a very old farm house in 1946 on Oscawana Height's road in Putnam Valley, which the family still owns. When he was old enough Stephen attended Putnam Valley Elementary School where he has fond memories of having to walk home in a heavy snow storm from the foot of Tinker Hill road up to Oscawana Height's road. About a three mile walk, but he didn't mind because he had the accompaniment of a wonderful girl named Carol Barker.
Stephen's first love is music and he attended Peekskill High School where he took every music course he could. When he graduated his first job was with the Odell Organ Building Company in Yonkers. They are related to the Odells of Putnam Valley through the Rush family. The Organ Company founded in 1859 is where Stephen got his first pipe organ.
Andersen's music career is that of an apprentice studying under some very talented musicians learning the techniques applicable to that instrument. He tells the story of one day meeting Paul Prince, who played with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. Mr. Prince invited Stephen to come to his summer cottage at Wildwood Knolls and ended up giving him free bass lessons for several years. At the same time Stephen was taking organ lessons at St. Luke's Church and piano lessons.
He would travel wherever his limited budget would allow him to study and play with master musicians. An accomplished musician, Andersen plays many instruments, his favorites being the piano, pipe organ, string bass, and the guitar. Even in music his Sherlock Holmes investigative curiosity got him involved in the piano tuning craft to perfect the sound of his notes and repairing pipe organs.
His intellectual curiosity doesn't rest and his range of knowledge never ceases to amaze. His main interest is in the genre of classical music but when asked what he thought of Rap music he quickly replied with an intellectual dissertation on Rap. To begin with he said Rap is not music it is "Choral Speech" it lacks melody, one of the three ingredients necessary for music. "Music has to have rhythm, melody, and harmony. In Rap music there is rhythm and there is harmony but there is no melody," says Andersen.
However, he said Choral Speech is a highly sophisticated art form used in chants and other forms of communication. The ancient Greeks used to have "Speech Choirs" says Andersen.
Talking to Andersen is an education in and of itself, and he takes his role and responsibilities as the Town Historian very seriously. He equates his role as historian to that of the Town Clerk's in that they are both responsible for the safety of the Town's records.
Stephen's interest in history started very young and he was always keeping statistics on something and collecting data on all the local neighbors. "I was always curious about what happened in the old days," says Andersen. "There were a lot of old families in town and I met a lot of them and we would talk about the old days."
Over the years he has accumulated many old photos from the estates of people that have left them to him and from acquaintances he has made with the senior community who remember when there were only dirt roads and no electricity in Putnam Valley.
Andersen for the first time this year received a small stipend for his role as Town Historian. Once again his passion for what he is doing took over and he seized upon the opportunity to use this money to purchase a few rare books on the history of the Revolutionary War. The books are for students who will volunteer to read them and be part of a documentary he has planned on Putnam Valley's role in the Revolutionary War. He says people will be shocked to learn about it. He and Maryann Arrien are planning to shoot this documentary as soon as possible.
A turning point in Stephen Andersen's historical life came about during his class trip to Gettysburg. It was not only exciting it, was inspirational, says Andersen. He had the opportunity to have discussions about the historical aspects of Gettysburg and the Civil War. It left him with a burning desire to follow historical clues wherever they might lead him. He is a walking fountain of information that he would gladly share with anyone willing to dip their cup into his well of knowledge.
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