No municipal historian knows exactly what they are getting into when they receive their appointment. An unglamorous town organizational meeting, over in (hopefully) forty minutes, gobbles up an unsuspecting civilian and spits them out a newly-minted scholar tasked with knowing many things they’ve yet to learn and a phone number listed in the town directory. Some of us founder, some of us get up and walk, and some of us soar. In the end, the job becomes that of the gardener - planting seeds and seeking new dirt to turn over in the hopes that someday, someone will get to sit under the tree you planted.
Don and Deb Teator have planted a lot of seeds and done a lot of soaring, and this year’s Greenville Local History Group Calendar finally bears this brief page honoring their years of work sharing, preserving, and celebrating Greenville as a rich tapestry of people and moments. As a historian myself I am obligated to provide their biographical details, that posterity may know the basics:
Don Teator is a Greenville native, born here to Connie and Donald O. Teator in 1952 and raised on the family farm in Freehold. He graduated Valedictorian from Greenville in 1970 and completed his BA and Master’s at SUNY Albany before commencing a career as a teacher. He spent over 33 years in the classroom - the last 25 at Cairo-Durham - and has somehow managed to transform what others call retirement into its own full-time job. In 1989 he was appointed Historian for the Town of Greenville, a post he has filled admirably, while also serving over twenty years on the Greenville Planning Board as both a member and chair. In 1992 he founded the Teator/Teter Biennial Family Reunion, and also served on the committee that expanded the Greenville Library. Ever conscious of the future, he is also President of the Freehold Cemetery Association - this being the only office he holds in which he doesn’t get calls from the people he serves. Don is an avid cyclist, performs upkeep on the small park in Freehold, and was an early entrant into the world of personal internet blogs where he has diligently chronicled his and Deb’s remarkable international trips for friends and family to enjoy.
Debra Teator is the daughter of Clem and Rita Hoovler and was born on Long Island in 1956. Her father’s own remarkable life brought the family to South Cairo in 1960, and the Hoovlers became the owners and operators of the Freehold Airport a few years later. Deb, a remarkable photographer and artist, was a member of the first graduating class of Cairo-Durham CSD before taking a job as a darkroom tech at the studio of Chestnutt and Smith in Catskill. In addition to working as a monitor and cleaner for Greenville CS, she also freelanced as an aerial photographer in partnership with her father. While Clem flew, Deb snapped photos of everything from real estate listings and scenery to the crowds and traffic at Woodstock ’94. She volunteered with the Greenville Youth Soccer League, becoming president during the mid-90s, and was also on the organizational committee for Arts Around Greenville. In the midst of all of this, she also maintained membership (and remains) an active member in the Clematis Garden Club, a group for which she currently serves as president. In addition to her pastel artistry of the last decade, she also serves as the coordinator of the Greenville Library Gallery. A vital part of both Debra and Don’s lives is their son Nathan, born in 1980.
It would be irresponsible of me to forego noting that when Don was appointed Greenville Town Historian nobody told Deb she became his trusted deputy. She has leveraged her remarkable talents behind the camera lens to document thousands of moments, places, and people in Greenville over the last thirty years - forming a collection of photographs and negatives that serve as a remarkable documentary endowment for future historians and members of the community. Truly, they are something of a dream team.
With the biographical details out of the way, it must be said that it is the true pleasure of the student to honor a teacher - this is also something we in the history field don’t often get to do. In Don’s time as Greenville historian he has created a template and developed a community many historians could never imagine cultivating. Were it not for the fact that I get to witness the Greenville Local History Group in action I’d scarce believe something so magical existed - and magical is precisely what it is. The role of any historian is to foster dialogue, and Don has created a group that meets regularly, draws big crowds, and gets the community at large participating, documenting, and discussing their shared heritage. The GLHG Calendars are one small part of the diverse offerings and efforts Don undertakes to make sure people find ways to connect - he also holds regular meetings, collects and interprets archival materials, and sends out one of the richest monthly e-blasts of any historian I know. In just 2022 alone he put an unbelievable amount of time into preparing a slew of digitized images from three decades of the GLHG calendar for hosting online, yet another testament to his fidelity for the mission of the municipal historian - share, share, share!
As a young historian in the unique field of local history I’ve reaped the benefit of Don’s example and his tireless work - just as every one of you have reading his newsletters, attending GLHG meetings, and hanging these calendars on your wall. To Deb and Don - thank you both, and keep up the wonderful work.
Jonathan Palmer
Greene County Historian
