BARRYVILLE, NY — It might help if you don’t think of Barryville as a mere tiny town—population 198 or 1,289 depending on where you look. 

Think of it as a region, and maybe a state of mind.

Barryville is also Minisink Ford and Highland Lake, said Yulan resident and small-business owner Laura Burrell. It’s Glen Spey, Eldred and Yulan. It touches Sparrowbush and Port Jervis, and reaches across the Delaware to Shohola, PA.

Burrell was talking about the span of the Greater Barryville Chamber of Commerce, but the matter of depth and breadth is true for the many community groups and the arts in the area too.

State of mind: Community as family

Cathy Daboul and her late husband Dr. Richard Daboul arrived in Barryville in 1986. There was the beauty of the area, but also “the community. The people. The community is family. Everyone is family in Barryville, and everyone is ready to help out,” Daboul said.

It was easy to make friends, even as a newcomer. None of that rural-standoffishness stereotype here.

“When you hear someone is sick or is having difficulty with medical bills, there’s always an organization or a church that helps,” she said. 

Example? The Can’t Hurt Steel Community Foundation—it helps people in their times of need. The group helps with the costs that pile up when a family member is seriously ill. Think rent, food, transportation and more. 

Businesses get involved too. This year’s tree lighting was “sponsored by a couple of businesses. Local businesses made cookies, they opened doors for people… gave money.

“[The tree lighting] was just a good community moment,” she said.

Another proud community offering? The Barryville Farmers’ Market. “People volunteer their time to work it,” Daboul said. “They’re there every weekend. There are over 50 volunteers, and they’re there at 8 a.m., helping vendors, directing traffic.”

And don’t forget the churches. Daboul belongs to St. Ann’s in Shohola. “We have lunches for the community,” she said. Many of the churches have food pantries. “It’s all anonymous, and you don’t have to be a member [of the church],” she points out. 

It’s not about shaming. It’s about feeding the hungry, caring for others. 

“People are happy to come out [to help].”

And if you want to get involved? With anything?

It’s easy.

“Ask, ‘What is it you need me to do?” Daboul said. 

Art flowers

It’s not just community groups. The arts are flourishing too.

Consider the Barryville Area Arts Association, which aims to create a better world by supporting the arts. “We believe that by learning to appreciate the beauty and diversity of art we may come to appreciate the beauty and diversity in each other,” the group writes on its website. It holds exhibits and events throughout the year at the Artists Market Community Center in Shohola or en plein air. 

See also “Filling our souls with beauty” by artist Nonna Hall about her Barryville gallery, page 17. 

Barryville means business

Laura Burrell moved to Highland after years of city living. “We simply fell in love with the river and lake towns here, and quickly changed our lives completely.” 

This year, she was elected to a seat on the Highland town council. Earlier, she was chosen president of the chamber. Even as a relative newcomer.  “The business and nonprofit community here has gone so far to welcome us as transplants,” she said. “I take this new role seriously as a way to give back to our membership.” 

The Barryville region has “incredible people working in trades like masonry, excavating, tree removal, landscaping and building who have been here for a long time—and stellar restaurants and coffee shops,” Burrell said. 

Some dining or drinking (or both!) places are new, such as After Hours (Eldred); or Cupbearer and the Rivers Edge (both in Barryville). The Park Bar and Crossroads Restaurant in Yulan have been reopened.

The Greater Barryville chamber holds beautification events, raises money for scholarships and celebrates holidays and business openings. It highlights business opportunities and everything the Barryville region has to offer. It also works with the Sullivan County Chamber and the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association, Burrell said.

There’s much to love about the Barryville region. And for the residents and business community, “we want to continue to share what those of us who live here already know—that we live in a very special corner of the county that has so much to offer,” she added.