A few years ago I discovered a copy of the limited edition book, JOHN ELTING, for sale on e-Bay. I purchased it for a few dollars, probably less than ten. Yesterday, I found another copy of the book listed on e-Bay for sale at $204.00!
Written in 1942 by Victor Elting to honor his 30 year old son who fell down an elevator shaft in Bombay,India during a black-out, the privately-published book was meant to keep alive the memory of a young man with so much promise. Here are Victor's introductory words:
"In the Village of New Paltz, New York, is a little burying ground. It is off the dirt highroad, and is reached by a lane through an apple orchard. The land slopes toward the West, with a beautiful view of the valley of the Wallkill. It is known as "The Elting Burying Ground," and there are buried the bodies and ashes of Eltings of several generations. In one part is a great boulder, on the side of which is a bronze tablet inscribed "Family of Victor Elting." A simple headstone, flush with the sod, records John's mother, "Marie Winston Elting. 1871-1932." Beside it is another, "John Elting, 1911-1941." The big rock was found by John and me on the mountainside one day soon after his mother's death and laboriously transported by modern equipment to be set up as the physical expression in the years to come of the unity of our family and of our love of the countryside.
"This little book is not made of granite, but is offered as a printed word which in the hands of and on the shelves of John's family and friends may serve to keep alive his memory, and by suggestion and reminder renew the joy which they have had in his company. It will be given only to a few, whom he would have wanted to possess it."
When I received the little book from e-Bay several years ago, I wrote an article for "The Historian," official newsletter of the Bevier-Elting Family Association of New Paltz, NY, to share John's involvement in preserving the "Elting Homestead" (now known as the Bevier-Elting House) on Historic Huguenot Street. His dedication to preserving the little stone house and our family's history is a story worth repeating for each generation.
In a future posting, I'll include the article I wrote about John.
