In Greek mythology, Mnemosyne was the goddess of memory, without which, according to the Greeks, there could be no rational thought. Nina Postupack is the Mnemosyne of Ulster County. She has served as county clerk since 2005 and as county clerk for a quarter century before that. On August 13, Postupack announced her resignation. She had been appointed to the post by Governor George Pataki before winning it in the next scheduled election.

The popular Postupack is retiring 14 months before the end of her term for health reasons.

Postupack’s tenure was “marked by her dedication to public service, preservation of Ulster County’s rich history and a deep commitment to community service,” a statement said.

When District Administrator Jen Metzger learned of her retirement, she said Postupack fostered a culture in the office “where every person is treated with dignity, respect and kindness… I enjoyed every minute of working with Nina and will miss her greatly.”

Metzger thanked Postupack for her decades of dedicated service to Ulster County.

As for Democratic Election Commissioner Ashley Torres, Postupack has never been one to take a political stance in the performance of her duties. “I think that’s really the kind of clerk you want to have, no matter what party you’re in,” Torres said. “They don’t make the rules, they just implement them.”

Postupack was the first woman to serve as county clerk. The previous 46 clerks, dating back to the 1670s when county registers were still kept in Dutch, were men.

Never questioned

She had been recommended for the post by Albert Spada, who took the job himself in 1966. Although he often said he would help anyone, Spada had a huge collection of toy elephants in his office – and not a single donkey. He served as county Republican chairman from 1969 to 1977, and during that time the Democratic vote continued to grow. It was an era in which Republican politics – and county politics – were shaped by three figures: Spada, county chairman Peter Savago and former district attorney Jack St. John.

Postupack began her career in the clerk’s office in 1979 and rose quickly through the ranks, becoming deputy county clerk in 1982 and assistant county clerk in 1990. “Over the years, she has transformed the clerk’s office into a beacon of public service, distinguished by transparency, accessibility and historic preservation,” a 2006 announcement said.

Postupack, like Spada before him, was re-elected every four years without facing challengers – with one exception. In 2009, Postupack, who ran for the Republican, Independence and Conservative Party, was challenged by Democrat Gilda Riccardi. She defeated Riccardi by nearly 10,000 votes. In the elections following years, Postupack was endorsed by both the Democratic and Republican parties.

In the service of the community

As head of the clerk’s office, Postupack oversaw the daily operations of the Department of Motor Vehicles in the county office building, the cavernous Hall of Records on Foxhall Avenue, and the historic Matthewis Persen House at the corner of Crow and John Streets. The county clerk issues driver’s licenses and driving tests, birth, death and marriage certificates, naturalization papers and the registration of deeds, as well as Ensuring the maintenance of court records.

Postupack was a practical district clerk

“I’ve worked with her on projects over the years,” Torres recalls. “Our coloring book, Voting for Kids, was also done with her department and we had a lot of fun doing it. We hand out the books at the polling places. She and her team were involved in the meetings. She wasn’t just there ‘in name,’ she was there and participated. As far as I know, it’s the only coloring book that deals with voting in the state – at least that’s what the League of Women Voters of New York tells me.”

The office of county clerk was a useful stepping stone to higher office. Postupack was never interested in that.

Under her supervision, the DMV began operating a mobile unit. A bus travels through rural areas of the county. She instituted extended hours at the DMV and gave lectures to inform seniors about the services available to them.

Archives staff presented local history to community groups, schools and heritage organizations, promoting public knowledge and appreciation of Ulster County’s cultural heritage.

Postupack also recognized the need for a civil partnership registry and shared her concerns with MPs. That body then passed a resolution empowering the clerk to issue civil partnership certificates to couples seeking legal recognition.

She was also the driving force behind the digitization of records, which are now available for inspection by county residents.

“It has been an honor to serve the people of Ulster County for the past 45 years,” Postupack said in her statement. “I am grateful for the support of my colleagues, residents and family throughout my career. I know the Clerk’s Office is in capable hands and will continue to serve the community with the same dedication and integrity.”

The succession to the throne

Taylor Bruck, a 34-year-old deputy county clerk from Ulster, is Postupack’s likely successor.

All county clerk appointments are made at the discretion of the governor. “Governors usually run it by line of succession,” said Deputy County Clerk Bruck. “But the governor could also decide to call a special election. In the meantime, it will run by that line of succession.”

Bruck, also a historian for the city of Kingston, started as an archivist in the district administration office eight years ago.

Bruck says the county was fortunate as a records custodian and was able to benefit from the careful attention of Clerk Postupack, who he said championed and helped expand the county’s records management archiving program.

“I plan to continue like this,” said Bruck

Postupack’s passion for history led to the creation of an archival exhibit space in the county office building showcasing the county’s past. Completing the digitization of the land records will ensure that these records are preserved and easily accessible to the public.

Mnemosyne never dies

Mnemosyne’s job is to connect the past with the present, and given Ulster County’s rich history, that’s no easy task. Nina Postupack has played the role of the goddess brilliantly, passing on to future generations the special sense of place that Native Americans and early European settlers discovered here. Future discoveries will build on that legacy.

Under the auspices of the County Clerk, the Matthewis Persen House has become a museum and venue for historical exhibits, and various community events are held here during the season.

Researchers carefully dug in the basement of the building and found old pottery shards, fish bones and old buttons. They discovered two tiny layers of dark soil that they called scorch marks. What were they?

The first line was simple. The British burned Kingston—then the state capital—in October 1777, an event that is reenacted in the streets every year.

But what about the deeper burn line? Archaeologists have unearthed an answer.

Native Americans burned the southern end of the wooden palisade fence on June 7, 1667, during the Second Esopus Indian War.

At that time, the state of New York was called New Netherland, New York City was called New Amsterdam, Albany was called Fort Orange, Kingston was called Wiltwyck, and Hurley (which the Native Americans had already burned down) was called Nieuw Dorp.

Where did the fire line that marked the boundary of the stockade end? The archaeologists did not dig any further. They carefully filled in the area where they had dug and left it to an enterprising future archaeologist to continue digging.

That’s Mnemosyne. There’s always more to discover, more to understand. Mnemosyne is a goddess who never dies.