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A TRUE FRIEND RICHARD BERESFORD Richard Beresford for the past many years was a ranger at the Saratoga National Historical Park where exhibits, history, writing and public relations were among his many duties. With great sadness, he has retired from the park after a lifetime that would have filled a 100 lives, too diversified and exciting to put in these pages. The good news is that he will be able to work even closer with the Friends of Saratoga Battlefield, and also be joining our Board. Also, in recognition of his many contributions to the Friends, as well as the Battlefield and the communities in the area, he will be the honorary chairman of this year’s “2004 March For Parks” which is covered in this issue of the Battlement. Richard was a very prominent and important figure in the establishment of the Friends of Saratoga Battlefield (FOSB). Through the years he wrote many articles for the Battlements. He was truly “Mr. Battlefield”. He was the authority on just about any subject dealing with the Battles of Saratoga. In fact, he was a tremendous store of information and if he couldn’t answer a question he would research it and come back with the answers and so much more embellishing the subject of your inquiry. He was a story teller who could keep you enthralled with both the content and the humor. When one considers his background and life of experiences, it is not surprising that he knew what he knew. These pages are not voluminous enough to capture those experiences, but a brief snapshot will make the point. He was born in Yonkers, New York, lived in New York, Illinois, and summers in Canada until his late teens. After studying Graphic Arts at Rochester Institute of Technology and Public Relations at Columbia University, he was drafted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the Defense Information School, where he received a direct commission as an officer in Army Intelligence and Security. He also studied Grants Planning at the University of Detroit. Following the Army, he moved to New York City where he entered the fields of public relations and advertising. These years were spent |
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in copy and speech writing, fund raising and promotion for such diverse groups as Air France, Time-Life, International paper and the United Nations, to name but a few. His lifelong interests in art and history enabled him to write articles as well as make presentations for the United Nations, Time-Life, and various other organizations. His career has led to India to visit His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, and Tibetan settlements in India and Nepal. His work experience with the Army, United Nations and business have brought him to Bermuda, Mexico, Jamaica, England, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Cyprus. His other activities, and interests in Saratoga are the Saratoga Arts Council, Urban Cultural park, National Museum of Racing, League of Women Voter (first male past president), Old Saratoga/New Schuylerville Association, and various other cultural and civic organizations. People encountered in his career: H.H. the Dalai Lama; Reverend Billy Graham; Anthropologist Margaret Mead; Henry Field (Filed Museum, Chicago); S. Dillon Ripley (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC); Harry Fairfield Osborne (of Tyrannosaurus rex fame, American Museum of Natural History, NY); naturalist David Attenborough; Douglas Newton, Curator, Primitive Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; ambassadors Adlai Stevenson, George Bush, Andrew Young; US Senators Robert Kennedy, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Evert Dirkson, of Illinois; Secretary of State John Foster Dulles; Secretaries General of the United Nations U Thant, and Kurt Waldheim; Secretary of the Army, Stephen Ailes; General William C. Westmoreland; Astronaut Frank Borman; writer William F. Buckley; musicians Emanuel Ax (as a teenager), Gin Carlo Menotti (Spoletto Festivals, Italy-US); Pearl Bailey (when |
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“A Remarkable Story” Ways. After reaching Boston, I headed for the Kennebec River in Maine and then followed the river to the portage path to the Dear River. On the way to the present Canadian Border I had to climb several steep hills, but loved going down the other side with my feet on the bicycle brakes. At one point there was a very sever rain and hail storm which I endured. However, was happy with the thought that Arnold and his men had the same experience at the same place. I can’t recall how long it took Arnold and his men for their trip to Quebec with all the portaging, and river travel, but I suspect with my bicycle I made better time, even though it had only one gear. My trip to Quebec took about two weeks. Along the way I stayed in churches and with those people who were gracious enough to put me up for the night. I arrived in Quebec and settled in a small hotel, and spent the next few days exploring the upper and lower cities and the Plains of Abraham. When I left Quebec for the return home I felt I had experienced a wonderful time and touch of our history. I couldn’t help but feel that my trip on a 1940 bicycle was infinitely easier than that of Arnold and his men. Of course Arnold was later to become a General and played such a vital role in the Battles of Saratoga, but it is too bad that he defected to the British. |
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