This is an excerpt from Gerard A. Finin’s just-published book, “A Good and Noble Thing: The Pioneering Life and Service of Anna Ward Perkins, M.D.” 

LOCAL BREVITIES.

A band of gypsies attempted to camp out on the Terry property near the Oliver road D. & H. crossing Saturday, but they were ordered to move on. They had with them a big black bear.

VILLAGE NOTES.

Brad Utter, a senior historian and curator from the The New York State Museum, was at the Clarksville Historical Society this past Wednesday to discuss both phases of the museum’s exhibit, “Enterprising Waters: New York’s Erie Canal.”

A group of concerned local residents is looking into its options for buying and restoring the Doctor Crounse House, which was previously set to be demolished but now is being offered for sale.

Yet another banner project in the town of Guilderland would picture historic buildings in Guilderland Center.

GUILDERLAND — A handful of residents of McKownville are beginning the process of applying for designation as a historic district through the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

SCHOHARIE — The Daniel Webster Jenkins House at 207 Church Street in the hamlet of Central Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 4 — one-hundred-and-thirty-four years after it was built.

In the Hilltowns and surrounding areas, the Anti-Rent Wars, which occurred nearly two centuries ago, still inspire art and literature.

GUILDERLAND — “I have always enjoyed traveling on old roads. I’m sort of an old-road nut,” said Steven Rider, a retired middle-school science teacher who has lived in Guilderland for over 40 years.

A stark reminder of a dark moment in the nation’s past was on display this week at Tawasentha Park in Guilderland.