To the Editor:

My name is Elizabeth Townsend Dearstyne, granddaughter of the late Jane Lansing Pruyn Townsend, the last Pruyn owner of the current Joshua House on Leesome Lane in Altamont.

Growing up, when Granny still summered there, we lived year around just feet away — until our house burned to the ground in October of 1958. Granny sold The Big House (as we called it) shortly thereafter.

I just read an article about the now-Joshua House written by The Enterprise in 2016. At the end of the article is a paragraph that reads in part: “Tour visitors should be on the lookout for a small version of the house they are touring. Charles Pruyn, [who must have been my great-great-grandfather] may have had the model made ….” 

Well, before Granny sold The Big House, Mother and Dad received this model from Granny as mother had always wanted to turn it into a doll’s house. It was too large a model for “normal dollhouse furniture” and to have furniture made to scale would have been very expensive. Later, I was given the house and hoped to furnish it as I remembered the original growing up. And, alas, I never got to it.

My husband and I retired to Bregenz, Austria in 2005 and certainly could not take the model with us. No one in the family had room for it so I decided to donate it to the Pruyn House at 207 Old Niskayuna Road in Latham. I was reluctant to do so as I sensed it was not particularly appreciated, even given its size, even though historically it should have been of interest.

Anyway, perhaps the Riggis might enjoy going to see it (hoping it’s still there) and perhaps one day it will be returned to its rightful home again. It would please me no end.

Two summers ago, my husband and I took our two daughters and four grandchildren on what we called our “Roots Tour” of Albany and Altamont where we grew up. The grand boys loved exploring The [Big] Joshua House. We were thrilled to meet the Riggis and extremely pleased with our many visits to Father Joseph Girzone over the years.

How blessed my siblings and I are that Father Girzone so lovingly restored the beautiful house and that The Riggis continue loving it.

Elizabeth “Tockey” Dearstyne

Bregenz, Austria