BERNE—Sixty years after the end of World War II, the era will be recreated and commemorated at Berne Heritage Days this weekend. lt will be the first time the annual event will have a theme.

Meanwhile, members of the ongoing Berne Historical Project will be showing off some of the town’s historic barns.
"I’ve been told that this year’s [Berne Heritage Days] is bigger than it has been in the past," said Erin Willsey, who is coordinating the event for the first time.

Many residents of Berne and the Hilltowns are World War II veterans, Willsey said, but the number is getting smaller as the years go on.
"About three quarters of them are deceased," Willsey said.

To recognize these men in their lifetimes, Willsey and the other organizers decided to structure Berne Heritage Days around them.

Since there is no list of Hilltowners who enlisted or were drafted into the war, Willsey relied on the memories of veterans. She asked the ones she did know to make lists of any Hilltown veterans they could remember.
"The oldest one is 92," Willsey said.

About 17 veterans have registered for the event. A half-dozen of them have agreed to participate in a veterans’ round table on Saturday. Willsey expects more will jump in to tell about their experiences.
"It’s one of those things where, at first, they say no, but, as they hear other people, they’ll want to talk," Willsey said.

Following the veterans’ round table, Willsey plans on a similar discussion with residents who lived through the war in America, including those who kept watch on the skies for invading airplanes. These people will talk about what the homefront was like, as the whole country rationed food and supplies to support the war effort.
"It was a very different war than the one we are in now," Willsey said.

At a ceremony Saturday afternoon, registered World War II veterans will receive certificates from the town. Veterans of any war will also be asked to stand and be recognized.
"We’ve got people who have come back from Iraq now," Willsey said.
In addition to the actual veterans, a group of people will be recreating a World War II encampment. Through contacts at the Home Front Café in Altamont, Willsey found a group of people interested in "living history." They wear World War II uniforms and use equipment from the era in their reenactment.

Some of the living history enthusiasts bring their families, and they all dress up in the fashion of the time, Willsey said.

Vehicles from World War II will also be on display, including a jeep, a tank, and a weasel.
"I’m really interested to see what it looks like," Willsey said of the weasel.

Staples in Colonie will provide digital cameras and printers for people who want pictures of themselves with the vehicles.

Saturday night, there will be a swing dance featuring live music from the forties. The living-history people will be participating in that along with anyone else who wants to dance.
"I’m really hoping people will show up for that," Willsey said. "It will be like literally stepping back in time."

Besides all the World War II commemorations, Heritage Days will have the usual games, marketplace, live music, food, and opportunities for genealogical research.

Barn tours

On Saturday, from 9 a.m. until noon, the Berne Historical Project will host a drive-it-yourself tour of three Dutch-style barns in Berne and Knox. It’s part of a focus on barns that the historical project has had for the past year.

Harold Miller, who heads up the project, said his interest in Dutch barns began with an Enterprise article last year about an historic barn on Rock Road in Knox, one of the three on the tour.
"I realized it was built by a many-great granduncle who was a Palantine German, not a Dutchman," Miller said. "Then, I found that most early so-called Dutch barns in Berne, Knox, and Schoharie were built for, if not by, German settlers, not Dutch."

The barns on the tour, on Rock Road, Bradt Hollow Road, and Helderberg Trail, are close to each other and may have been built by the same master carpenter, Miller said.

There are about 10 to 15 Dutch-style barns in Berne, Miller said. The historical project just completed a preliminary survey of barns in the town and the Dutch Barn Preservation Society will conduct a more thorough survey this fall.

Dutch-style barns are built with wooden pegs and huge beams.
"It makes one marvel that these were built by our ancestors over two centuries ago and many are still incredibly solid," Miller said.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, a New York State Historical Marker will be dedicated at the Jacob Sholtes Barn on Rock Road. Though the barn is now owned by John Moritz, of the Hearts of Our Father ministry, Terell Shoultes, of Florida, an ancestor of Jacob Sholtes, will be there.

At the end of the weekend, on Sunday, the Berne Historical Project will lead a cemetery restoration project at the Wright Family Burying Ground on Willsey Road.
"It is typical of the 50 or so small family burying grounds in Berne," Miller said.

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Berne Heritage Days is free except for the food. A full schedule is available at www.berneny.org. Information and maps for the barn tour will be available at the Berne Town Hall Saturday morning.