"Taking Big Steps": Nicholas J. Juried Family Foundation Gifts

The Lan­dis Arbore­tum has seen many changes since its hum­ble begin­nings as founder Fred Lape’s fam­i­ly home­stead, Oak Nose Farm. Those years marked the expan­sion of the Van Love­land Peren­ni­al Gar­dens, the devel­op­ment of com­pre­hen­sive nature and edu­ca­tion­al pro­gram­ming, and a host of unique events: the plant sales, the 5K For­est Run, and the Full Moon Music Series. 

But the years have also includ­ed the demise of the 500-year-old Great Oak, the grad­ual decay of the Lape Lilac Col­lec­tion, and the bat­tle against inva­sive species. They have tak­en their toll on the Arboretum’s infra­struc­ture, sit­ed in the rur­al North­east, a some­times harsh envi­ron­ment for aging buildings. 

As stew­ards of Lan­dis, we are deter­mined to pre­serve its nat­ur­al and man­made beau­ty for cur­rent and future gen­er­a­tions. With­in the past year, a very gen­er­ous native son of Schoharie Coun­ty has made that possible. 

Nicholas J. Juried grew up in Gilboa. The son of Russ­ian immi­grants John and Anna Juried, ​“two of the most won­der­ful par­ents any child could ever hope for,” he enjoyed a suc­cess­ful and sto­ried career that has allowed him to share the fruits of his labor with the small local com­mu­ni­ties he has nev­er forgotten. 

Mul­ti­ple non­prof­its through­out Schoharie Coun­ty have been the grate­ful recip­i­ents of Mr. Juried’s largesse. The Lan­dis Arbore­tum can­not overem­pha­size its appre­ci­a­tion for the invalu­able gifts he has pro­vid­ed us. 

Gen­eros­i­ty and giv­ing are con­ta­gious in the Arbore­tum fam­i­ly. Now we are hon­ored to wel­come Mr. Juried and his fam­i­ly to ours. 

With grants from the Nicholas J. Juried Fam­i­ly Foun­da­tion, Lan­dis has been able to address crit­i­cal struc­tur­al projects in the his­toric Lape Farm­house, cur­rent­ly in dis­re­pair. The Meet­ing House, home of every­thing from nature pro­gram­ming to musi­cal per­for­mances and com­mu­ni­ty gath­er­ings, has been ren­o­vat­ed inside and out. A new pavil­ion and oth­er fea­tures will enhance our abil­i­ty to attract new vis­i­tors and to vast­ly increase our capa­bil­i­ty to gen­er­ate rental income from catered events such as wed­dings, memo­ri­als, and conferences. 

The mil­lion-dol­lar view still impress­es and costs us noth­ing, but Mr. Juried’s grants open up many new pos­si­bil­i­ties. New win­dows and doors sharp­en that view. New sid­ing and insu­la­tion pro­tect the building’s integri­ty from the ele­ments and align it with the attached Schoharie Coun­ty emer­gency shel­ter. Brides and grooms, cel­e­bra­tion of life and memo­r­i­al atten­dees, and hik­ers and bird­ers – all will be delight­ed by a stun­ning open-air pavil­ion, larg­er pond, land­scap­ing, walk­ing path, and expan­sive park­ing lot at the Meet­ing House. 

The work on the 1840’s Farm­house tru­ly embod­ies preser­va­tion at its finest. This includes exca­va­tion, parg­ing (apply­ing a thin coat of plas­ter or mor­tar to mason­ry to seal it from mois­ture or smooth a rough sur­face), and drains to stop the leaks which threat­en the building’s foun­da­tion. The sur­round­ing stonework on the patio, steps, and walk­ways is being repaired, replaced, or upgrad­ed for safe­ty. A new HVAC sys­tem, floor, and drainage sys­tem, all essen­tial ele­ments, will be installed in the cel­lar. Pre­lim­i­nary plan­ning for solar ener­gy and EV charg­ing sta­tions on the grounds has begun. Even the Farmhouse’s Con­fer­ence Room, our own ​“think tank” for Board meet­ings and oth­er such pur­suits, has got­ten a facelift. 

Out­side the Farm­house, you will see a new roof, exte­ri­or repairs, and new paint. The Wel­come Cen­ter, adja­cent to the Farm­house, is the gate­way to Lan­dis for every vis­i­tor, whether new or return­ing. Rain or shine, it’s a place to gath­er, find Arbore­tum or com­mu­ni­ty resources, briefly escape a wind or snow squall, or par­tic­i­pate in a class or work­shop. It now has new doors and trim. The Farmhouse’s anti­quat­ed kitchen and bath­room have been total­ly ren­o­vat­ed by the skilled team at Ed Ander­son & Son Car­pen­try, Inc. The kitchen is the home of meal prepa­ra­tion for the lunch­es we pro­vide for our spe­cial fam­i­ly, the Lan­dis Vol­un­teers, those tire­less folks who make so much hap­pen at our plant sales and beyond, on-site and through out­reach in the community. 

To learn more about the remark­able life and con­tri­bu­tions of Nicholas Juried, take a ride to the Gilboa His­tor­i­cal Soci­ety Muse­um and Nicholas J. Juried His­to­ry Cen­ter, where you can pick up a copy of his book ​“As I Remem­ber Things”. It’s a trea­sure trove of infor­ma­tion about the Juried fam­i­ly and its tremen­dous impact – his­tor­i­cal, archival, cul­tur­al, and finan­cial – through­out Schoharie County. 

The muse­um has sea­son­al hours but can be vis­it­ed by appoint­ment year-round. Go to gilboahis​tor​i​cal​so​ci​ety​.com or call (607) 652‑2665.

With pro­found respect and grat­i­tude, Mr. Juried, wel­come to the Lan­dis Arbore­tum fam­i­ly. As Ger­ry Ston­er of the Gilboa His­tor­i­cal Soci­ety said of Nicholas Juried, ​“He def­i­nite­ly makes pos­si­ble big steps.”

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