A town seal that depicts hundreds of years of historical significance in the town of Bethlehem is being called into question by outgoing Independence Party board member Tim Gordon.
Gordon, who will represent Bethlehem as part of the 108th state Assembly district in January, is requesting that the Bethlehem Historical Association and members of the town board find out the name of the American Indian standing next to explorer Henry Hudson in front of the Halfmoon sailing sloop in the seal.
It always seemed odd to me that it depicts two individuals and only one, Henry Hudson, has a name, said Gordon. Gordon said his intent is to bring forth a discussion to possibly improve on the design that was developed around the time of the country’s bicentennial more than 31 years ago, around April 1975.
`It doesn’t seem to me to show a full appreciation for the native American,` Gordon added.
The discussion item appeared at the Dec. 13 meeting of the town board, surprising some of the public in attendance. Town resident and former candidate for town supervisor Robert Jasinski pointed out that the town seal is on all the vehicles, stationary, and various other material the town distributes, and doesn’t see the need for a change.
`The town seal itself is something precious,` Jasinski said. `When you change it, you’re going to be making a drastic change.`
No one is really sure of the historical accuracy of the picture inside the town seal or who the American Indian standing next to Henry Hudson might actually be.
`No, I don’t know,` said town historian Raymond Houghton Jr., who is beginning to research the subject.
`We probably know it was a Mohican-Native American who possibly observed him going up the Hudson,` said Houghton. Houghton said research does not tell of any particular meeting between Henry Hudson and an American Indian.
`Henry Hudson did land north of Albany in Mechanicville, and did meet American Indians there trading beads and other items,` Houghton said.
The date of that landing was Sept. 19, 1609, 184 years before the town of Bethlehem was formed in 1793. The early response from town officials so far is to leave the seal alone.
`Most people are fairly happy with the way the seal is,` said Houghton, who also understands the reason behind Gordon’s query.
`It is a little strange if you look at it and one has a name and the other doesn’t,` Houghton said.
Supervisor Theresa Egan said it is not the first time Gordon has mentioned the idea of changing the town seal to her.
`He talked about this with me about a year ago, but I am very content with the seal we have now,` Egan said. `I don’t hear a lot of support to change it.`
PHOTO CAPTION: The town seal of Bethlehem that depicts hundreds of years of historical significance is being called into question by outgoing Independence Party board member Tim Gordon. (Jim Cuozzo/Spotlight)“