Frank Mucich Memorial Collection

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSS 2020.0015

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Collection comprises the personal materials of Frank Mucich of Cementon and Catskill, NY. Materials relate to the history of Cementon/Smith's Landing, an industrial hamlet south of the Village of Catskill on Route 9W near the Ulster/Greene County line. Of note are a selection of articles on Cementon's history and residents as authored by Frank Mucich, as well as two audio cassette oral histories in which Mr. Mucich disucsses Cementon and the regional mushroom industry which he was a part of in the second half of the 20th century.

Other materials in the collection relate to the cement industry, the Croatian immigrant community in Cementon, the history of the Town of Catskill, and Mr. Mucich's postwar service in Germany following the end of World War Two. A Selection of Mucich family photographs and images of the Hamlets of Alsen and Cementon are cataloged separately as PC-2020-0041. Of note in the separated photographic materials are some of Simon Mucich's snapshots of fellow workmen in the quarries at Alsen and Cementon working for various Cement Companies.

Dates

1918 - 2007

Biographical / Historical

Frank Mucich was born in the Hamlet of Cementon to Simon Mucich and Katherine Nemec Mucich in 1926. He attended Elementary School in Cementon and gratuated from Catskill High School Class of 1944. Originally a member of the 56th Regiment of the New York Guard, he was mobilized and went overseas to Germany in 1946 for occupation duty. Upon his return home he entered into the Mushroom business, which was then a lucrative trade, and was engaged in that business for most of his life. He was a devout member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, Cementon, which closed its doors in 1996 as well as an active member of the American Legion and a local Croatia Relief Committee which conducted fundraising, clothing, and food drives during the Croatian War of Independence in the early 1990s.

While not a historian by training, Mr. Mucich was nonetheless endowed with an interest and demeanor well suited to the study of history. As such, he was an active participant in the commemorations and events surrounding the bicentennial of the Town of Catskill in 1988. Aside from authoring several articles and helping to plan events, he was also the driving force behind the dedication of several state historic markers commemorating various aspects of the history of Catskill township and his home community of Cementon.

Extent

.3 Cubic Feet (A single legal size document case) : Collection is primarily news clippings, typewritten documents, and photographs. ; Various

Additional Description

Arrangement

Materials were recieved piecemeal in several batches. Items recieved subsequent to the intial accession were processed and included in the file plan following materials which were already cataloged and described in chronological order.