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Story and photos By DEBORAH A. MILES
I
maginelivinginthe17thcentury
intheareanowknownasNewYork.
Inaway,that’swhatPEFmember
CharlesT.Gehringhasdoneforthe
past35years.
languagethathasn’tbeenusedformore
Everyworkday,Gehringhasstepped
Gettingtothetop
thanacoupleofhundredyears.”
backintimedecipheringandtranslating
Gehring,whoisofGermanandItalian
Thedocumentaryisjustonepartofthe
thestate’s12,000foliosofDutchcolonial
heritage,worksoutoftheNewYorkState
project.Gehringsaidthefilmcanstand
records.HeexploresanerawhenNewYork
Library,thehomeoftheNewNetherland
alone,butisalsousedtoaccompanya
wasawildernessfilledwithbearsand
Project.Hispositionasdirectorwas
comprehensivetravelingexhibit.Theexhibit
wolves,plusapotpourriofsmugglers,
establishedin1974andhasremainedfunded
detailseveryaspectofDutchheritageand
traders,piratesandprostitutes.
throughsupportfromcorporations,
concentratesonvariouseras,suchasthe
Gehring’stranslationshaveinspired
foundationsandindividuals,concurrentwith
goldenageofPatria(1598to1648)-atime
authorssuchasWilliamKennedywho
matchinggrantsfromtheNational
ofDutchpoliticalandmilitarypowerinall
craftedhishistoricalnovel“Quinn’sBook”
EndowmentfortheHumanities.
quartersoftheglobe.
afterbeingenticedbythetranslations.
Thelatestprojectwiththedocumentary
Tocompletethepackage,theinstitute
RussellShortoalsopennedTheNewYork
andexhibithasapricetagofseveralhundred
commissioned12peopletowriteessays
Timesextendedbestseller,“TheIslandat
thousanddollars.
aboutDutchheritageforpublicationina
theCenteroftheWorld,”aftertalkingto
“Luckily,theinstitutewasabletoamass
bookcalled“Explorers,Fortunes&Love
Gehringaboutthetroveofhistorical
thismoneybeforethefinancialstructure
Letters:AWindowonNewNetherland.”The
documentsthatcontinuetogainrespect
collapsed,”hesaid.
bookisdedicatedtoGehringforhisyearsof
andattention.
WhatkeepsGehringmotivatedtodothe
devotiontocontinuingtheimportantwork
Thisyear,thepainstakingworkof
translationsisthehistoryheuncovers.Hehas
ofmakingtheDutchrecordsoftheNew
translating17-centuryDutch,whichonlya
becomeaconsummatestorytellerashe
NetherlandavailableinEnglishtranslation.
handfulofmodernscholarscando,is
continuestochurnoutbooks,monographs,
Thisisnotthefirsttime
gainingevenmoreattention.A
articlesandlecturesfortheyoungandold.
Gehringhasbeenrecognized
documentary,“Uncovering
“Ourconcerniswith‘K’throughPh.D.,“
forhiswork.Hehasreceived
America’sForgottenColony:The
Gehringsaid.“Wenotonlyservethe
manyaccoladesthroughout
NewNetherlandProject,”was
professionalresearcher,butalsoschool
theyears.Themostprized
producedandairedonWNYT-TVin
children.Atanearlyage,childrenshouldbe
camein1994whenQueen
AlbanyJune6.Gehring,sharesthe
awareoftheuniquebackgroundinNewYork.
BeatrixoftheNetherlands
spotlightinthefilmwithJanny
Ithelpsyouunderstandcertainthingsabout
becameawareofhis
Venema,aDutchhistorian.
theregionandaboutyourself.
meticuloustranslations.
“ThecolonialhistoryofNewYorkdoesn’t
Celebratinghistory
Gehringwaspresentedwith
beginwiththerevolution.Thishasbeena
amedalbytheCounsel
problemwithschoolsandtextbooks.Thereis
“TheNewNetherlandInstitute GeneraloftheNetherlands,
150yearsofhistorybeforethatandtheDutch
supportedthisproject,”Gehringsaid. makinghimanofficerinthe
wereamajorforceinthe17thcentury.
“ItspurposeistopromoteDutch Queen’sOrderofOrange-
“TheDutchcultureisalotmorethanbeing
heritageandexplainwhatwedoas Nassau.
concernedwithgrowingtulips,wearing
translatorsonadailybasis.The “Itwasagreathonor
woodenshoes,andeatingcheeseand
documentaryshowshowwehandle andtotalsurprise,”
chocolate,”Gehringsaid.“TheDutchheritage
thedocumentsandtheproblemswe Gehringsaid.“Thisisnotdonevery
contributedtomakingAmericaameltingpot
havebecausemanyofthemwereseverely often,andespeciallytoforeigners.And
where,ifyoushowabilityandambition,you
damagedinthe1911fire.It’ssortofanuts- whenIpass,themedalmustbereturnedto
cangorighttothetop.”
and-boltsdocumentaryabouttranslatinga
www.pef.org
theNetherlands.”
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