Author offers insight into steamboat disaster

CORNWALL-ON-HUDSON-Author Kris A. Hansen will be speaking about “The Wreck of the Henry Clay” and a local hero at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3, at Painter’s Tavern on Hudson Street in Cornwall-on-Hudson. More than 150 years ago, the worst steamboat disaster on the Hudson River occurred near Yonkers After the burning of the Henry Clay, speculation arose that a race with the competing steamboat Armenia was responsible for the disaster. Negligence was suspected, and the public demanded retribution. Several prestigious people became victims on that summer day, while ordinary people became heroes. One of those seemingly ordinary people hailed from Cornwall-on-Hudson, who left a legacy for the town he called home. Hansen has been a writer and reporter for several years. A native of the Hudson Highlands area, her writing credits include a business column, as well as writing, reporting, and editing for business and special interest publications. Death Passage on the Hudson is her first book. The event is part of the Museum of the Hudson Highlands’ Fall Evening Speakers Series. It is funded in part by the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For directions go to www.painters-restaurant.com. General admission is $7 ($4 for members). Reservations are not required. For more information, call 534-5506 ext. 204, or visit www.museumhudsonhighlands.org.