FOR INFORMATION ON THIS CHAPTER PLEASE CONTACT:
Send Juanita Leisch-Jensen an e-mail by clicking here.
Membership Requirements
Applying for membership in the West Point Chapter of the Company of Military Historians is quite simple. You must first apply for membership in the national organization, if you are not already a member. (Join the Company of Military Historians) The form requires a current member of the organization to sponsor you. Like attending as a guest, our chapter will help make arrangements to find you a sponsor. Once this process is started, you must make out a personal check for $10.00 payable to “West Point Chapter, CMH” to cover your first year’s chapter dues. Send the check to:
Mr. Chuck Quinn, Treasurer
West Point Chapter – CMH
62 North Airmont Rd
Suffern, NY 10901
Origins
The organizational meeting of the Hudson Valley/Connecticut Chapter was held on Sunday, 20 January 1980, at the Van Wyck Homestead Museum in Fishkill, NY. The Company members who attended this meeting agreed to form an area chapter, encompassing the Lower Hudson River Valley and Western Connecticut. It was decided to immediately apply for a charter with the parent organization and acting officers were selected.
Since this was still the period when collectors made up the bulk of Company membership, local members were encouraged to bring representative pieces from their collections for display as well as any materials they might wish to make available for sale or trade.
The first regular meeting of the Chapter took place Monday evening, 10 March 1980, at the same location. The word had spread to other local as well as prospective Company members. The group grew rapidly. So, when the West Point Museum was offered as a larger alternative meeting location, a change was quickly made. The museum was an immediate drawing card, so the name of the Chapter was changed to the West Point Chapter. An unforeseen benefit of the move was the ability to draw on larger population centers to the south, including Northern New Jersey.
During the Museum’s relocation period from Thayer Hall to its present address, the Chapter met at the Rockland County (NY) Sheriff’s office.
The West Point Chapter has been a tremendous success. It is currently the largest and most active chapter in the Company. It is also the oldest in continuous active service. To this, it owes much to the geographic area, which boasts a dense population to draw on. However, their base of operation, the West Point Museum, attracts members just by its reputation. The membership is continually in debt to the Museum and its staff for their help and support. It is a debt they can, obviously, never repay.
Meetings
The West Point Chapter meets at 7:30 PM on the second Tuesday of each month, except for January, February, and August. The location is in the West Point Museum, just outside the Thayer Gate and behind the Visitors’ Center, on Main Street, in Highland Falls, NY. Light refreshments are served. Early arrivals are allowed a bit after 7:00 PM. Attendance at these meetings is encouraged, but not a requirement to belong.
Speakers
The cornerstone of almost every Chapter meeting is the speaker. It is a tradition begun early in the Chapter’s existence where military researchers, archivists, collectors, archeologists, veterans, and the like from the local area, including members of the Chapter, present their subject matter to the membership. These presentations average about 45 minutes, and can be as simple as a speaker reading a paper to full blown theatrical productions with full audio and visual aids.