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Library

Gus Kozel

January 29, 2024

|

Hudson, NY

Song

Recorded by

Jessica Chappe

This interview is available in-person only. Please get in touch if you would like to listen.
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Summary:

Edward G Kozel, known as Gus, reflects on his life and restaurant after closing and retiring on November 12, 2023. Kozel’s Restaurant, a landmark in the area, was a family-owned steakhouse on Route 9H in Ghent that was in business for 87 years. Gus talks about growing up inGhent, his hobbies, working as a volunteer firefighter, learning how to fly a plane, and trips he’d taken. He touches on his family, the history of Kozel’s Restaurant and how he was raised. He also shares his perspective on how the area has changed over the years. 

‍

Themes:
Local Business
,
Local History
,
Restaurants
,
Lifelong Resident
,
Food
,
Change and Gentrification
,
Interviewer Bio:
Jessica Chappe

Jessica Chappe (b. 1994) is a mixed media storyteller and project coordinator based in Catskill, NY. Her projects focus on how people find belonging through community, place and self. She received a BA in Photography at Bard College in 2016 and has been practicing the oral history method since 2021. Chappe published a photo essay in the Times Union Hudson Valley, “‘Better than Disneyland:’ The last days of an upstate supper club” focused on Kozel’s Restaurant’s closing weekend. She chose to speak with Gus to expand on the story.

Additional Info:
Interview language(s):
English
,
Audio quality:
high

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Medium - There is background noise, but the narrator is audible.

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Permissions: 

This interview is hereby made available for research purposes only. For additional uses (radio and other media, music, internet), please click here to inquire about permissions.

Part of this interview may be played in a radio broadcast or podcast.

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