Woodbury Historical Society's 100-year-old Gatehouse fence gets a much-needed painting

Central Valley — The perfect Columbus Day weekend weather provided an excellent opportunity for a “paint party” at the Woodbury Historical Society’s Gatehouse Historic Site in Central Valley. Spearheaded by Clare Fitzgerald of Highland Mills as her Girl Scout Gold Award project, work began on Saturday to prepare the massive iron gates to be painted. Pete McGoldrick, Bill Grimes and Bob Prosperi of the Woodbury Community Association were enlisted by Clare on Saturday to sandblast, scrape and sand the gates which had been last refurbished more than a dozen years ago. With that accomplished, Clare and her crew proceeded on Sunday to seal and protect the 100-year old iron with a thorough coat of primer. On Monday, the team returned to apply the final coat of high-gloss black enamel to return the gates to their formal glory. Painting the gates is one of a number of projects to get the Gatehouse ready for its centennial celebration next year. It was in 1912 that F.F. Proctor, a theater impresario, built a grand estate on what is now military property belonging to West Point. All that remains today is the Gatehouse which the federal government deeded to the community a number of years ago. It is located on Smith Clove Road in Central Valley, next to the Falkirk Golf Course.